Diamond jewelry ranks high as many jewelry lovers’ most precious or desired piece. However, getting diamond jewelry is just the first part of the work; you must know how to take care of it. Cleaning your diamond jewelry is important, and there are several ways to go about it.
4 Ways to Clean a Diamond Jewelry
Here are 4 ways to clean a piece of diamond jewelry at home:
Method 1– Wipe With Dry Cloth
You should wipe your diamond jewelry with a soft dry cloth at the end of every day. Wiping your diamond jewelry is a simple step to help your jewelry maintain its gloss for longer. When they haven’t stayed long, it is easier to remove oils and grease that might be stuck on the jewelry.
Microfiber cloth is the best material for wiping your diamond jewelry. Microfiber is excellent because it is very absorbent and won’t leave any strand of cloth on your jewelry, unlike materials like cotton. After a while, you would have to use more detailed cleaning methods to clean your diamond jewelry properly. This method is very effective for removing tarnishes.
Method 2– Soap and Toothbrush
Soap and toothbrushes are handy tools for cleaning all types of jewelry, and diamond jewelry isn’t an exception. To use this method, you only need warm water, some dishwashing liquid, and a soft-bristled toothbrush. When you have the items for cleaning, follow the simple steps below:
- Mix your dishwashing liquid with some warm water in a bowl.
- Soak your diamond jewelry in the soap and water mixture for 15-20 minutes.
- Use the toothbrush to clean every part of the jewelry thoroughly. If you observe some specs of dirt in specific areas, you can focus on those areas with your toothbrush. Alternatively, you can use a toothpick to pry out the specs of dirt gently.
- Rinse the jewelry in running water and leave it to air dry.
Method 3– Ultrasonic Cleaners
Ultrasonic cleaners remove accumulated grime and build-up by passing high-frequency sound waves through a vibrating liquid solution. Ultrasonic cleaners produce better cleaning results than other cleaning methods. The bubbles created by the machines can reach into areas of your diamond jewelry that would otherwise be harder to reach.
To clean your diamond jewelry with an ultrasonic cleaner, you first need to put the cleaning solution into the machine. Next, put your jewelry in and set the timer. Rinse your jewelry after washing it and leave it to air dry.
Method 4– Professional Jewelry Cleaners
The best way to keep your diamond jewelry clean is to pay professionals to do the job for you. The most obvious perk is that they can clean your jewelry better than you would with any homemade methods.
Most jewelry cleaners use ultrasound cleaners to clean diamond jewelry. However, the jewelers are better trained to ensure that no loose diamonds fall off your piece. They check for loose pieces before putting your jewelry in the cleaner and tighten them to ensure they don’t fall off.
The best place to get professional jewelry cleaning is in jewelry shops or at the hands of a jeweler. It’s even better if you take your piece to the jeweler you bought it from as they are more familiar with it. Some jewelers even offer free lifetime cleaning services for jewelry that you buy from them.
Things to Note When You Clean Diamond Jewelry
It’s best to give your diamond jewelry to professionals to clean it for you. However, if you decide to clean it at home, there are a few things that you should note.
1. Be Careful With Included or Fracture-Filled Stones
While ultrasonic cleaners do a great job cleaning your diamond jewelry, you must ensure your diamonds can handle the vibrations. You risk damaging your diamond if it contains feathers, has heavy inclusions, or has been fracture-filled.
The best way to determine that your diamond doesn’t fall foul of any of the above-mentioned is to look at its grading report. The diamond grading report gives information such as the level of inclusion on the stone and any previous treatment that the stone has received. Ensure that the grading report comes from reputable agencies like the GIA or AGS.
2. Keep Diamonds Away from Oils
One of the reasons diamonds are difficult to keep clean is that they are a natural attraction for oil. The oils from your food, skin, sweat, and beauty products can easily pass to your diamonds. When these oils stick to a diamond’s surface, they act to reduce its fire and brightness.
3. Store Your Jewelry Properly
Properly storing your diamond jewelry would significantly reduce your need to clean your diamond jewelry so often. Also, it won’t be so tricky when you have to clean your jewelry.
Always store your diamond jewelry separately from other jewelry; this helps protect the metal from scratching. Also, a diamond is the hardest naturally-occurring substance on earth, meaning it would scratch other jewels, metals, and other diamonds if put together.
Finally, always store your diamond jewelry in a cool, dry, and safe location to protect the metals from tarnishing. If your diamond jewelry has some tarnished silver parts, you should also learn how to clean tarnished silver.
4. Clean Your Diamond Jewelry Regularly
You should treat your diamond jewelry to a professional clean once every six months. However, you should endeavor to keep your diamond jewelry clean between those sessions.
Simple home methods like those described above would ensure your jewelry doesn’t look undesirable by the time you take it to get cleaned. You should determine the frequency of your cleaning by how often you wear the jewelry. A suggestion is to wash your diamond jewelry every week if you wear it daily.
5. Don’t Use Harmful Chemicals
Not all chemicals are ideal for use in cleaning diamond jewelry. For instance, to clean diamond jewelry, you should never use chlorine bleach and abrasives, such as those found in toothpaste or home cleaners. These chemicals are dangerous because they can scratch and erode the metal parts of your diamond jewelry.
Don’t wear your diamond jewelry when you want to swim or shower because swimming pools and some showers contain chlorine. Also, soap or shampoos with strong chemicals can affect the metals on your diamond jewelry.
6. Be Careful Around Drainage
For many people, the perfect cleaning area is usually the kitchen sink since there’s a tap and a surface to wash their jewelry. However, you need to be careful with washing diamond jewelry in your sink because it can easily go down the drain. You must be even more cautious when dealing with smaller jewelry like earrings and rings.
Always plug your sink to help you keep your jewelry safe while you work. Alternatively, you can do all your washing in a bowl outside the sink.
Why Should You Clean Diamond Jewelry?
There are some great reasons why you should always clean your diamond jewelry
1. Maintains its Brilliance and Sparkle
One key thing that attracts people to diamonds is the sparkle effect of the gemstone, also known as its fire. The fire of a diamond refers to the colorful flashes of light that the stone disperses while illuminated.
A diamond’s fire doesn’t reflect as much if there is much dirt on the stone’s surface.
If you clean your diamond jewelry regularly, it will keep sparkling, and that fire would be a pleasant reason for people to look at you when next you wear it.
2. Maintains its Worth
Diamonds are some of the most expensive gemstones, and diamond jewelry will always have a high value. However, even the most expensive gemstones would not look worth their price tag if you don’t keep them clean. Nobody spends thousands of dollars on a jewelry piece to have it look like a cheap item made of cubic zirconia.
Cleaning your piece is even more important if you plan to sell your diamond jewelry. While a good buyer would gauge your piece based on the 4Cs of clarity, cut, carat, and color, clean jewelry is always a great first impression.
3. Hygiene
Regularly cleaning your diamond jewelry is also a display of good personal hygiene. As your jewelry goes through your busy day with you, it would pick up and hang unto all sorts of microorganisms. If you don’t clean them often, your beauty accessory could become a breeding ground for germs.
With personal hygiene in mind, rings are the jewelry piece you ought to clean more consistently. Since you wear a ring on your fingers, germs from there can easily be passed into your mouth while you eat. Cleaning diamond piercing jewelry is also important; you can learn how to do that here.
4. Avoid Expensive Repairs and Maintenance
If you don’t clean your diamond jewelry properly and regularly, the piece will have scratches and blemishes. Also, professional cleaners would check your jewelry for loose stones, bad prongs, and other damages that might have occurred on it. Therefore, in a sense, going so long without cleaning the jewelry can cause you to lose some stones on it.