Top Tips On How To Clean Your Diamond Rings

Many of us wear diamond rings every day, be it a family heirloom or a marriage or engagement ring. Our hands go through a lot, however, and rings get covered in makeup, lotion, oil, and everything else that we deal with day-to-day.

Keeping the sparkle on our diamond rings or engagement rings is important. They are precious items of jewellery and we want to keep them shining like the day we first saw them! Getting your ring professionally cleaned can be an unnecessary expense, however. So we’ve put together a simple guide to cleaning your diamond rings.

What you’ll need:

Dishwashing soap
A bowl of warm water
A soft-bristle toothbrush
A soft cotton cloth

How to clean your diamond rings

Make up a bowl of warm (almost hot) water and dishwashing soap.
Soak your ring in the bowl for 20-40 minutes.
Use a soft-bristle toothbrush to gently clean the stone.
Rinse the ring under warm running water.
Repeat if needed.
Dry the ring with a soft cotton cloth or let it air dry.

How NOT to clean your diamond rings

Many are surprised by how simple cleaning diamond rings really is. You should not, however, reach for harsh household cleaning agents, especially those with chlorine in them, or abrasives like toothpaste. These will damage the metal and stone of your ring and take away its gleam. You also shouldn’t dry your ring with paper towels as these can scratch the ring.

The toothbrush you use for cleaning the stone should be soft-bristled, new, and only used for cleaning the ring. Don’t use your regular toothbrush!

How often should you clean your diamond rings?

Diamonds are easily marked by the oil on our fingers. The Gemological Institute of America recommends following the above steps once or twice a week will ensure your diamond ring stays sparkly.

What if my diamond ring is really dirty?

If you don’t clean your diamond ring regularly, crust and dirt can build up on it to the point that a simple dishwashing soap solution won’t do the job.

Some people purchase an ultrasonic cleaner to keep their jewellery clean without having to take it to a jeweller. What is an ultrasonic cleaner? These are small machines that emit sound waves that create bubbles in the water inside.

Can you put diamond rings in an ultrasonic cleaner? There is some risk when putting diamonds in an ultrasonic cleaner as diamonds with lots of inclusions (low-clarity diamonds) could break inside an ultrasonic cleaner. If you’re unsure of your diamond ring’s clarity, take it to a jeweller to be assessed and get their opinion on whether or not you could put it in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Our advice? If your diamond ring is very dirty, have it professionally cleaned by a jeweller. Once you’ve done that, start gently washing your ring using this guide once or twice a week. That way, you won’t need to take it to the jewellers for cleaning as often – or ever.