Cleaning your diamond ring

Once you get that diamond ring on your finger, all you want to do is show it off – but wearing it daily can lead to dust collecting in those tight spaces that are difficult to get to. There are many old wives’ tales regarding the best way to make a diamond sparkle, and how to clean rings in particular. Solitaire diamonds are often worn as engagement rings and are therefore worn every day – with these, it’s important to clean your diamond properly to keep it in the best condition.

A mistake that many people make is only cleaning the front of the ring to ensure that it sparkles when they’re out in public, but you shouldn’t forget to clean the back of the ring setting. The setting of the ring is the part which is closest to the skin, and therefore will inevitably be the part of the ring which collects the dirt and any ephemera – additionally, if you allow dirt to build up here, it can also cause skin irritations on your finger.

The best method to cleaning your diamond ring

When it comes to cleaning your ring, the best method to do would be to use a children’s toothbrush as this usually has a soft surface and will make sure that nothing breaks. The bristles will allow you to clean effectively around all facets and types of settings, while not being abrasive or harmful in any way.

It is vital that you remember to not use any bleach or corrosive products to clean your ring – if you do use these, your ring will never be the same. They are used for other surfaces and are a big no-no for jewellery. These solutions can damage the diamond and the metal setting, and this damage would be irreversible.

Vodka and gin are traditionally used to clean diamond solitaire rings as they are clear grain based alcohols. The science behind this theory is that the high level of ethanol is a natural solvent and will chemically remove any stray dirt that is on the surface of the diamond or is trapped inside the setting of the ring.

To clean the metal of your ring, a common method carried out is baking soda mixed with water as it then creates a thick substance for cleaning. As with all cleaning, it is best to rinse thoroughly with warm water to remove any residue.

Although there are many tips and tricks, you can’t beat diluted soap and water. Any kind of regular household soap, such as washing up liquid or hand soap is perfect for the job. As with any type of cleaning, leaving the jewellery to soak is preferable, as this loosens any solidified particles in hard to reach areas.

Although you can clean your diamond ring at home with the methods above, we strongly advise you to take your ring to a jeweller for a professional clean – you will know that it is in safe hands! An ultrasonic system is used which is a specialised tank filled with liquid. The jewellery is submersed it  and the tank then produces high frequency sound waves, which can disturb and remove the tiniest dirt particles from normally unreachable parts of the jewellery.

A respectable company to recommend to carry out this sort of performance would be AC Silver – they offer a free service that will make sure your ring stays sparkling for as long as possible.