You just had a wonderful night on the town. Happy, but exhausted, you set your rings and jewelry aside for the night.
STOP
Never place those precious pieces together.
Even soft touching can cause diamonds to scratch other gemstones, metal settings, or each other. Sapphires and rubies scratch emerald and jade, which scratch opal. Pearls and ivory are especially susceptible to damage. You can see a lookup-chart of relative gemstone hardness here.
We suggest that you invest in a quick two-step process when removing your jewelry, to bring safe and brilliant returns.
1. Finish clean
Upon removal, wipe each piece with a clean microfiber cloth. This removes sweat, chemicals, etc., and helps maintain optimum beauty between professional cleanings.
2. Separate for safety
Keep each piece isolated from the others, so there is no accidental bumping or rubbing between wearing. Even when traveling away from home, consider wrapping each piece in tissue before storing it for the night.
At home, you can simply use the original ring boxes which came with your pieces for storage.
If you have a jewelry box with compartments you can use soft pouches to ensure that your pieces remain safely separate when placed inside.
You might even customize an area to ensure that your household’s collective jewelry items are safely separated when stored.
Sustaining super sparkle
Did you know that sweat, skin oils, soap and dust actually change the refractive index of your diamond and other gemstones, possibly muting the amazing qualities that you love?
Wiping pieces with a cloth prior and after wear will help, but your jewelry will also benefit from cleaning at regular intervals. How frequently depends on your personal lifestyle and wear habits.
On average, once per year it’s prudent to have your jewelry checked by a professional for worn mountings, loose prongs and general condition. Most jewelers offer a professional cleaning in tandem with this security check.
Home cleaning advice
- Follow whatever instructions were printed on the label or the box.
- Clean jewelry in a secure location where it can be safely handled, not near your sink, where a piece may slip down the drain.
- Use a soft brush only, never use sharp or hard objects to remove detritus.
- Clean your jewelry regularly so sweat, lotions and skin oils do not accumulate.
- If your jewelry is seriously soiled it should be cleaned by a professional.
- Diamond jewelry can be cleaned with a soft brush dipped in warm water along with a mild detergent.
- Rinse your cleaned diamond jewelry under running water.
- Pearl jewelry should never be exposed to chemicals or solvents.
- Each piece of pearl jewelry is recommended to be stored in a soft bag.
- Colored gemstones have specific cleaning requirements. Never expose them to chemicals, solvents or ultrasonics without knowing those specifics.
Do no harm
Many jewelry pieces are suitable for daily wear. With that said, no jewelry is indestructible. Metal pieces can bend under pressure, altering shape, loosening prongs and risking gemstone security. Swimming pools, hot tubs and even natural springs have content in the water which may react poorly with jewelry and gemstones. And many household cleaning products have chemicals which can damage your precious pieces.
- Remove jewelry and rings, especially, when doing physical exercise, gardening, housekeeping, etc.
- Remove jewelry when working with household cleaning products.
- Remove jewelry before entering chlorine swimming pools, hot tubs or mineral spring water.
Travel safely
- Take a number of tissues or pouches in which to store jewelry pieces when you’re not wearing them.
- Plan appropriately for the destination. If you’re camping or staying at the beach the jewelry you wear may be different than a trip with formal dinners and the opera.
- Call ahead and see whether your hotel or lodging choice comes with an in-room safe.
- Always keep your insurance coverage up to date.
Final tip
Keep your IGI Grading Reports in a safe and private location, separate from your jewelry pieces, so you will have proper documentation if something goes missing.
We invite you to visit our complete list of Jewelry Care Tips, here.