Cleaning Your Diamond Jewelry
Depending on the setting you choose, you can soak your diamond engagement and/or wedding rings for up to 30 minutes in a solution of dishwashing liquid and water. This is best suited to prong and cathedral settings. In pave and basket settings, however, soaking the rings can increase the likelihood of the gems coming loose. Be mindful of this when you decide to soak any jewelry piece use mild dish soap in warm water and soak your jewelry for a few minutes. Using a soft cloth or cotton swab, gently scrub the metal (gold, platinum, silver) and then rinse. Repeat the process if necessary, but always proceed with caution when it comes to soaking jewelry.
For extra shine, you can soak diamonds in window cleaner afterwards. Because glass cleaner contains some harsh chemicals, do not soak for more than a minute at a time, and do not use this process at all with rhodium. To ensure that all of the glass cleaner is rinsed off, use the same mild dish soap solution. Dip your ring into the solution, rinse it with warm water, and then dry it completely.
You can use toothpicks to remove dirt that is lodged in between the prongs and the diamonds, but be extra careful not to scratch the metal or move the positioning of a prong. If fibers from cloth get stuck in the setting, gently use tweezers to remove them. Again, be careful of the metal. Even though diamonds can only be scratched by other diamonds, the precious metals into which they are set can be scratched more easily.
Ionic cleaners can be used on most diamond jewelry. If your engagement ring is set with stones other than diamonds, consider other cleaning methods, as some gemstones are adversely affected by the electrical current in the ionic cleaning process.
When storing your diamond jewelry, be sure to keep it separate from other jewelry. Remember that diamonds can not only scratch any other jewelry you have, but can scratch each other as well. Make sure that two diamond pieces are not being stored in such a way that they touch each other.
All purchases from David Stern Jewelers in Boca Raton, FL qualify for free cleaning whenever the item is brought to the signature store.
