Cleaning Your Diamond Jewellery
Youโd be surprised what a good clean will do for your jewellery. Are your diamonds looking dull? Is your gold a little lacklustre? Having your jewellery professionally cleaned by a jeweller will bring it back to life. But there are also ways to give your jewellery a really good clean at home. And the best thing is that you probably have everything you need already.ย
Why do I need to keep my jewellery clean?
Keeping your jewellery clean is essential to ensure that it stays in excellent condition and maintains its shine and sparkle. Dirt, sweat, and oils from your skin can accumulate on your jewellery, causing it to tarnish, discolor or even deteriorate over time. Regular cleaning of your jewellery not only ensures that it looks good but also helps to preserve its value.
Moreover, keeping your jewellery clean is also important for hygiene purposes. Pieces of jewellery such as rings, bracelets, and earrings can collect bacteria, which can be harmful to your skin and overall health.ย
In fact, a recent study conducted by pre-owned jewellery brand Est.1897 found that a piece of jewellery can hold up to 428 times more germs than a toilet seat after just one weekโs worth of wear.ย
So now I have your attention, let’s get started on what we can do about it…
How to clean your diamond jewellery at home
To get a good result cleaning your jewellery, you need to understand why your jewellery is looking so dull. Letโs begin with the gemstones.
Your jewellery is exposed to so many elements throughout the day. Sweat, dust, soap, hand creams, food etc. The main reason your diamonds and gemstones look dull is because they build up layers of oil and dust. These microscopic layers affect the light refraction and/or reflection of the gemstone and make it appear dull. The key to un-dulling (yeah, Iโm going to claim that as a word) them, is to remove the oils.ย
Firstly, ditch the toothpaste. Who knows how this practice started, but it needs to end. Toothpaste is an abrasive โ a mild one, yes, but still abrasive. It has absolutely no cleaning properties in relation to gemstones or metal. A toothbrush, on the other hand is a great tool to have on hand. Buy yourself a nice soft toothbrush. It doesnโt have to be expensive; a cheapie will do the trick just as well as any other. More on the toothbrush shortlyโฆ
Cleaning your jewellery - let's do it!
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Step-by-step cleaning instructions:
Chances are, you’ve probably got everything youย need to clean your jewellery at home already.
- Heatproof bowl
- Dishwashing liquid detergent
- Glass cleaner
- A soft toothbrush
- Hot water
- Tissues or a soft absorbent cloth
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Put your kettle on to boil while you gather your supplies.
Put a squirt of the dishwashing detergent in the bowl. There’s no exact measurements required here, just a squirt (which probably equates to about a teaspoon, or a puddle about the size of a 50cent piece).
Then add a few sprays of glass cleaner to the bowl.
By now your kettle should be boiled. Add the hot water to the bowl, deep enough that your jewellery will be completely submerged.
Leave it to cool just a little – a few minutes will do. You want it to be just too hot to hold your fingers in there, but not so hot it burns you. The heat won’t hurt your gold or diamonds, but some other gemstones can be damaged at high temperatures. See my notes at the end of the page for tips.
Let the rings soak in the hot water for a few minutes. You may even see some of the dirt already lifting as they soak.
Lift the ring out of the water (which should still be hot) and using the soft toothbrush, gently dab at the underside of the settings and stones. Don’t scrub or brush, just tap with the brush to loosen any remaining gunk. You may need to pop it back in the hot water for a little while and repeat a couple of times to remove all traces of dirt and grease.
For stubborn build-up, you can make a new solution and repeat the process if your water cools too much.
Once your jewellery is clean, rinse with warm water and pat dry with a tissue or soft absorbent cloth.
What a difference!!! This is a quick and simple process and, given the facts revealed about how much bacteria builds up on your jewellery, something definitely worth doing on a regular basis.
The fine print:
The instructions and method above is intended for the cleaning of diamond jewellery. Some other gemstones can be damaged by heat, so please take care.
Most gemstones can withstand temperatures up to 60 degrees (C)
Do not use this method of cleaning for opals, pearls, turquoise or dyed gemstones (such as mystic topaz).ย
Advice given is general in nature and given with the best intention. No responsibility is taken.
