I often get asked about Cleaning and Caring for Your Jewellery, whether its for a piece I’ve made or not. It really goes without saying that if you look after the jewellery you have it will last and stand the test of time. There are a few pieces of corse that will last longer than others even if you do nothing with them.
For example if you own a pair of simple diamond stud earrings that you never take off, then these aren’t really going to get loads of wear compared to say a ring because there in your ears! They will however get very dirty very quickly if you never take them off! If however you are constantly taking them in and out every day to clean or you simply don’t like wearing them at night you may find that after a while the clasp holding them will feel a little looser compared to when you first brought them. General wear and tear!
In my opinion, rings are the one piece of jewellery that should be looked after more than others. Bracelets, bangles, necklaces, pendants and earrings all of corse need looking after but rings generally are more susceptible to everyday wear. This generally means you just need to take a little more care of the rings on you fingers. I’m definitely not saying don’t wear them, but just be a little more conscious about wearing them at the gym or doing the gardening. If you wear a ring everyday and never take it off thats great, i’m a strong believer of wearing your expensive pieces. Whats the point of having a lovely piece of jewellery and only wearing it now and then.
So what to do?
Well I’ve listed a few ways in which you take take care of your rings so you can keep them looking fresh and the diamonds sparkling.
First off, if you wear hand cream and don’t take off your rings then they’ll need cleaning maybe a bit more often. The cream can get into lots of little holes and parts of the ring that can be much harder to clean. Some holes are there to let more light through, so if its clogged up with cream then the diamonds wont be looking there best.
Heavy gym user and use free weights a lot? Your rings aren’t as strong as those dumbbells! Take them off or wear gloves. I’ve seen a lot of damage done by weights at the gym so by just padding up your hands with gloves will do the world of difference.
Of corse if your job is very hands on then you will see your ring wearing more than someone who sits a computer or desk all day. I’m not saying take it off for work, its entirely up to you. I just want to make you more aware.
Now to cleaning.
A soft toothbrush works wonders! Hot hot water, making sure you don’t burn yourself, fairy liquid and a soft toothbrush. Use the toothbrush inside the ring to get into the little holes and round the diamonds. The hot water works to loosen the dirt and the Fairy works well as a degreaser to remove the oils built up on the ring. This is also very cost effective. There are other products on the market that work ok but in my experience this method works just as well. You need to be careful if you have a ring with other stones like Pearls or Turquoise as these cant really be submerged in hot water for long periods. They are very absorbent stones and contain natural oils that can be damaged if care isn’t taken. This might be more for a professional. For diamond rings on the other hand this method works wonders!
If you have scratches that you’d like removed then this again is one for a professional. Don’t try and remove marks yourself as you could easily damage the ring. This generally isn’t too expensive, but varies from ring to ring and places to take them.
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