Cleaning Diamond Rings

Kaisilver experts frequently receive emails asking about cleaning diamond rings. The questions are varied but the main context remains the same. Just remember that neither diamonds nor diamond jewelry can be cheap, this might not be true with the absolutely low grade diamonds but, true jewelry lovers are rarely satisfied with the junk diamond quality. It is sad to see expensive diamond rings getting damaged or even lost, just because of a lack or awareness or caution. Through this report we wish to educate buyers about diamond rings, not to make you an expert but to ensure that you get better and longer satisfaction from owning a diamond ring.

For many of us, diamond rings have even more significance aside from their high price tag. It is quite common for diamond rings to be used as special occasion jewels, diamond wedding rings, diamond engagement rings and of course diamond birth stone and anniversary rings. You do not want to ruin such a jewel, so make sure that you understand the issues involved in cleaning a diamond ring. Email our experts at sales@kaisilver.com if you have any questions related to gemstones and jewelry. 

There are many reports and articles telling you how to clean a diamond ring. And yet, we often receive frantic emails from jewelry lovers who have just damaged or even lost their diamond ring while cleaning it. We will cover two topics in this report on cleaning diamond rings, the first is something that you will not hear often - but includes issues that often lead to the damage or loss of diamond rings. 

SINKS AND WASH BASINS 

Let us start off with cleaning diamond rings in sinks and wash basins. It somehow seems very convenient to clean a diamond ring in the wash basin. Ladies love to do that, after washing their hands or face and sometimes after merely brushing their teeth. Just remember that most wash basins have drains, these are sometimes covered with loosely placed covers. Should your diamond ring drop into the drain by accident, you can be quite sure that you will never see that jewel again. It will soon be lost in the sewage system leaving you sorry and sad. A very rare case came to light in August 2011 when, a lady dropped her $12,000 diamond ring in the wash basin and actually got it back. The local public works traced the jewel through the sewage pipes and salvaged it. Of course we are not sure if this happened when the diamond ring was being cleaned but, it would sure need a lot of cleaning after it was picked from the sewer! 

Another problem related to cleaning diamond rings in a sink is often overlooked. It is not uncommon for diamond rings to have loosely set diamonds. This sometimes is the cause of bad craftsmanship or bad research on the design. Some rings like cluster diamond rings are prone to having loose diamonds. It is possible that a substandard design and construction of a diamond ring, results in the diamonds becoming loose over a period of time. The loose diamond(s) could come off in the ring cleaning process, it is most likely to go through the drain. It is far more difficult to trace loose diamonds in a drainage system because, metal detectors cannot identify loose gems or diamonds.

BOWL OF WATER IS ADVISABLE

The ideal way to clean a diamond ring would be to use a bowl of water. If you must change the water during the cleaning process, make sure that you pick up the diamond ring in the bowl before throwing out the water and filling the bowl again. Leaving the ring during the water change could, cause the ring to drop out. Bowls made of soft plastic are better than glass or metal bowls. Using a bowl made of hard materials like steel or even glass can cause a problem if, the diamond ring accidentally hits the sides or bottom of the bowl. 

SOAPS AND DETERGENTS

We have read many jewelry cleaning reports that, recommend the use of soaps and detergents to clean diamond rings and other jewels. While this is not very wrong, it would be better to do this in phases. First try to clean your diamond ring in plain water, no need of detergents or soaps. If the jewel looks dull even after or the diamonds appear a bit greasy or oily, make use of a very mild bathing (liquid) soap. Detergents are bound to have chemicals and solvents but, mild bathing soaps will have less of these. Never pour the liquid concentrate on your diamond ring and never, dip the ring in the liquid concentrate. Half a tablespoon of mild bathing soap is enough for around, 3 cups of water. If you plan to soak the diamond ring in water with or without soap, make sure that any other gems that may be included in the ring (besides) diamonds do not have a problem with water soaking. 

ULTRASONIC CLEANERS

The suitability of ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning diamond rings is debatable. While diamonds with their impressive Mohs scale hardness rating of 10 are strong and durable, certain treatments applied to diamonds can reduce their durability. We will specifically mentioned the 'filler' or 'fissure filling' treatment where, various materials are induced into the cracks and fissures of the stone. This reduces the visibility of the cracks and thereby increases the luster and brilliance of the diamond. In reality, sellers are supposed to clearly inform buyers if any treatment is applied to the diamonds that they sell. Treatments that will require the diamond to be handled, cleaned or stored in a specific way need to be explained even more clearly. However this is rarely done. You therefore need to be careful before selecting the jewelry that sells you the diamond ring. If your ring does have diamonds that have 'fillers' inside, ultrasonic cleaning is not advisable. The ultrasonic waves generated by the device could pass into the cracks of the stone and push flush out the filler material. This will of course reduce the beauty of the diamond, your ring would appear quite ordinary after that. 

CLEANING CLUSTER RINGS

We will now talk about a specific type of diamond ring, these are rings that many small or even tiny diamonds set close to each other. Such diamond rings are often referred to as cluster diamond rings and can have as many as 10 to 100 diamonds in one single ring! With so many small diamonds set in one single ring and within a small area, the possibility of the ring have at least some loosely set diamonds from the production stage is quite possible. Infact you would do great if you presumed that the ring would surely have some loose diamonds. When cleaning such diamond rings, keep a few things in mind. 

Putting a cluster diamond ring in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner is risky. The diamonds that are loose could drop off the mounting, some of them could be so tiny that it would be impossible to locate them. This is once again a good reason why, diamond rings should not be washed in basins or sinks. If you do clean a ring with many small diamonds, inspect the water closely once you have completed the cleaning. Make sure that no loose diamonds are present in the water. If you do find any such diamonds, keep them carefully and take the diamonds and the ring to your local jeweler. Setting gems or diamonds in a ring is surely not a do-it-yourself home job.

SAFE PLACE 

When you do plan to clean your diamond ring, choose a safe place. In an ideal situation, we do not recommend that you clean your diamond ring outside the home at all. Not in restaurant, at work and not even in hotels or theater wash rooms. It is not uncommon for people to forget the jewelry in the bathroom or washroom. If this happens to you in a hotel or office, you can rest assured that your adorable diamond ring will find a new owner within a few minutes.

When we have talked about diamond rings so far, we have presumed that the rings have only diamonds and no other gems. But this is not always the case, it is quite possible that your diamond ring includes other gems too. Diamond ruby rings, diamond sapphire rings etc are very popular. When cleaning diamond rings that have other gems (besides) diamonds in the ring, make sure that the cleaning process will not affect the other gems. For example, you would not soak an emerald diamond ring in water for more than a few seconds. Emeralds are almost always treated with natural oils, soaking them in water can cause the oils to ooze out and thereby damage the gem. A casual jewelry buyer is not expected to know the characteristics of ever gem, it is surely the duty of the jeweler to guide and advice the buyer. If you need any advice or suggestions related to gems or jewelry, our support experts at sales@kaisilver.com will be glad to help you. It does not matter where you brought your jewel from or where you will buy it from, we will be glad to help. You will never be under any obligation to make a purchase from us.

PROFESSIONAL HELP

If you do try cleaning your diamond ring and still find that they look dull and worn out, you might want to take the help of a professional jeweler. Make sure that you choose a reputed jeweler to do this especially if, the ring is a high priced jewel. In cases where the metal casting is badly worn out with scratches and dents, it might be a good idea to have the entire diamond ring remade. You could use the existing diamonds but, might be required to add some more metal (gold or silver depending on the ring) to the make the new ring. 

If you have read this report on cleaning diamonds carefully, you will agree that the information is rarely provided by jewelers or jewelry magazines. This is exactly why the Kaisilver support team chose to compile this comprehensive report. We educate buyers hoping that they get a good jewel and that the jewel stays good for long. 

SIMPLE PROCESS

The ideal way to clean a diamond ring is to use the following items. A bowl of clean and plain water at room temperature, the bowl should hold about 2 cups of water. About half a tablespoon mild bathing liquid soap, do not add it right away to the water. The above article explains how and when to use the soap. Keep a clean soft cloth handy, make sure that the cloth has no sharp or hard objects like pins, hooks or buttons. These could scratch the metal mounting of the diamond ring. A soft toothbrush can be used to clean under the diamond.

If you are yet not confident of doing the job yourself, check out the Kaisilver Diamond Cleaning Report and email our support team at sales@kaisilver.com for any questions that you might have.