HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU CLEAN YOUR JEWELRY?

To clean?

Or not to clean?

How often should you clean your jewelry?

How often should you wait?

Well, to be honest, there is no time frame.

You can literally clean your diamonds and gemstones daily if you felt like it.

Diamonds are the hardest natural substance on earth, so no amount of scrubbing, rubbing, wiping, brushing, will harm the stones in the least. That’s the awesome thing about diamonds. They are ultra-durable.

They last forever.

Which also means, that a good cleaning will make them look brand new again. So they’re always crystal clear and sparkling like the day you bought them.

Gemstones are pretty much the same way. You can gently scrub them (most use a soft toothbrush), and they’ll be good to go.

The only real issue is if you put gemstones in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Some gemstones can’t be cleaned:

Some gems are more brittle, porous, and softer, they shouldn’t be subjected to harsh chemicals, heat, or vibrations (ultrasonic sound waves). Gemstones like emeralds (which most have been oiled), opals (they can dry out and crack), pearls (they absorb the liquids, expand and become brittle), colored diamonds (they can fade and lose their vibrant hues).

There are many other gems that shouldn’t be put in the ultrasonic cleaner (see the full list here).

Cleaning these gems by hand with mild soap and water is totally fine. You won’t have to worry about them…

So how often should you clean your jewelry?

I’d suggest once a week. That’s usually enough to keep them sparkling and brilliant, for nothing beats a clean diamond.

Now, as for the metals themselves, you won’t have issues with gold in the cleaner, or by hand (just don’t use any bleach). Silver and other metals, like titanium and tungsten, should probably be cleaned by hand.

Polishing by hand:

Get yourself a polishing cloth and carefully wipe the mounting to remove surface scratches (be gentler on white gold, you don’t want to rub away the rhodium plating). Also be cautious of the prongs and channel walls. Polishing them, or rubbing them too hard could cause them to snag, lift, pull, break, and wear down. So work softly around the mounting (you don’t want to loosen your stones either).

How about a professional polishing?

Jewelry stores use polishing wheels to buff your items like new. But this can also wear away a thin layer of gold, so it’s wise to only have it done a few times a year, just in case.

Where to clean?

When you clean your jewelry, try to get into the #1 dirty spot: underneath the diamonds and gemstones. Dirt gets trapped under the stones and clings to the underside (the pavilion), where it dries, hardens and builds up like cement. This also darkens your stones, makes them dull, and makes them look horribly lifeless.

So get a tiny brush and dab underneath them to make their bottoms sparkle.

Clean your jewelry and diamonds good (I throw my diamond earring in the cleaner once a week).

Clean them often (jewelry gets dirty really fast from lotions, perfumes, soaps, oils).

Get yourself some cleaning supplies:

Buy an ultrasonic cleaner, polishing cloth, dazzle stik, or jewelry cleaning solution…

Make those puppies shine!

Cheers! :)