6 tips for taking care of your engagement ring
If you’ve received the engagement ring of your dreams or have already sealed your union with a diamond-studded wedding band, you’re certainly concerned about keeping your jewel looking shiny and well-cared for. In this article, we’ve put together some tips to help you keep your engagement ring looking as stunning as the day you first saw it.
1. Store your diamond jewelry separately
Diamond is known as the hardest material in the world, ranking at the top of the Mohs scale. This means that diamond is the most scratch-resistant material, and can only be scratched by another diamond. For this reason, it is important to store diamond pieces separately from other jewelry, as diamonds can scratch and damage other diamonds, more fragile gemstones, and gold.
The case that comes with your ring or wedding band is the ideal place to store your jewelry.
2. Remove your engagement ring before doing any heavy lifting
Gold and diamonds are very durable materials, but they are not indestructible. And while diamonds are not fragile, they can break. Certain activities can increase the risk of damage to your jewelry.
Sports activities and household chores, such as gardening, cleaning, and cooking, can damage diamonds or the structure of the ring. When in doubt, remove your ring or wedding band and store it in a safe place. This will prevent problems with accidental impacts, damage from chemicals, or any other type of accident.
3. Remove your ring before using moisturizers and other cosmetics.
Lotions, makeup, and moisturizers are great for your skin, but they can take away from the beauty of your jewelry. Diamonds have an interesting property: they attract oil and repel water. When a diamond comes into contact with moisturizers, the process of oil accumulation is accelerated, temporarily dulling the diamond. Fortunately, a professional cleaning can restore the shine to your ring. However, to avoid having to do this maintenance regularly, remove your ring before using lotions and other cosmetics.
Gold is one of the metals with the greatest resistance to oxidation, a natural chemical process that occurs when it comes into contact with air. However, the use of some dermocosmetics or changes in the skin's pH can accelerate or intensify this process, causing a slight change in the color of the metal alloy. This color change is superficial and does not represent a change in the content or quality of the gold alloy. It can be reversed through maintenance performed by your trusted jeweler.
4. Choose professional cleaning over home cleaning
Your engagement ring will eventually need to be cleaned to restore the shine of its diamonds and gold. A quick search online will reveal a plethora of tutorials on how to clean your jewelry at home. However, be careful: common practices such as using toothpaste or cooking your jewelry in a lemon solution can damage it.
No one is better suited to perform this type of maintenance than a jeweler. In addition to cleaning, your jewelry may need to be polished to remove any signs of wear. This type of maintenance is an easy service to find and is usually very inexpensive.
As a last resort, you can do a light cleaning at home. The shine of the gold can be restored by using a very soft cloth or a magic flannel, recommended for cleaning jewelry. To restore some of the shine to diamonds, the only recommended home solution is to soak them in a bowl of warm water and mild detergent for a few minutes and clean off any excess with a very soft-bristled brush. However, care must be taken when using the brush to avoid accidentally damaging the structure of the ring.
5. White gold and colored stones: extra care
If your engagement ring has a white gold frame or has colored stones set in it, it requires special care.
White gold in its natural state has a slightly yellowish tone. What corrects this tone, giving it the shine and silvery color that is so characteristic of white gold jewelry, is actually the rhodium plating.
With use, it is natural for this plating to wear out. For this reason, white gold pieces require periodic maintenance. Contact with abrasive products, such as ammonia and chlorine, and even some cosmetics, can accelerate this wear.
Chemicals can also take away the beauty of colored stones. Emeralds, for example, are stones that require extra care. In addition to abrasive products, alcohol and hot water can damage them. Furthermore, they are slightly more fragile gemstones, so it is important to protect them from impacts.
In short, it is important to understand that each type of material, whether metal or precious stone, has different properties. A chemical substance may be harmful to one part of your jewelry and not to another. When in doubt, remove your ring before using chemicals, cleaning products, and some cosmetics.
6. Avoid removing your jewelry in public places
Although there are certain situations in which it is necessary to remove your jewelry, avoid doing so in public places. It is very common, for example, for some people to remove their jewelry to wash their hands in public bathrooms and simply forget their little treasures in the bathroom sink. If you need to remove your jewelry in situations such as going to the gym, always carry a velvet bag or a small case with you to hold your engagement ring or wedding ring.
