7 Steps To Cleaning Diamond Jewellery
When you bought or received your first piece of diamond jewellery, you probably thought about cleaning your new jewellery; it probably sounded like some complicated process. You probably chose to leave cleaning diamond jewellery to the experts. Well, the truth is that you can carry out excellent diamond jewellery cleaning at home.
Diamond jewellery is one of the most precious gifts we can give to a loved one. A beautiful piece of diamond jewellery will stay with the recipient for life and symbolise your love for them. However, it's best to practice caution when caring for your diamond jewellery. Many people who wear diamond jewellery will simply hand the piece of jewellery to a jeweller to get it cleaned. While this is fine and well, you can use a home-based DIY approach when cleaning your diamond jewellery. This article will cover the basics of a 7 step guide to cleaning your diamond jewellery.
NB. this guide applies to diamonds and other precious stones set into precious metals such as gold or platinum. Never use liquids to clean pearls. Silver can tarnish and will require different cleaning methods or even professional cleaning. Our jewellery does not use silver.
1. Wipe your Diamond Jewellery With A Damp Cloth
When you clean your jewellery, try to keep your jewellery in your hands as much as possible. This will avoid the risk of damage or even losing any loose gemstones. In this guide, we avoid using running water or needing to clean the jewellery over a sink or basin.
To start with, dampen a clean cloth; a flannel is a good choice, but even better is a microfibre cloth as these are much better at pulling dirt particles and grease films off the precious metal and gemstones and are much less likely to snag on and clasps or prongs holding the diamonds or other gemstones in place.
We suggest using each cleaning stage one after the other until you get the results you want. Just stop as soon as your diamond jewellery is as clean as you desire. You will probably not need to follow all the steps in the guide.
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2. Use a Clean Cloth And Dry The Jewellery
Next, take a clean, dry cloth; again, microfibre is best and wipe away the moisture.
Next, lay the jewellery on a piece of absorbent kitchen paper and leave the piece to stand, and air dry away any remaining moisture.
In many cases, this will be enough to bring your jewellery back to as-new condition, especially if you do this regularly.
If you do this light maintenance cleaning regularly enough, depending on how often you wear the piece, the cleaning process is just two steps!
3. Use Rubbing Alcohol on a Soft Cloth
If your jewellery does not come up to a sparkling finish, you will need to go a little further. Here we can use rubbing alcohol, which you should be able to buy at your local chemist. Alcohol is better than water as it breaks down heavier and more resistant residues.
The cleaning technique is much the same as step two—just a gentle wipe down with a microfibre cloth. Any residual alcohol will dry off quicker than water will.
4. A Gentle Brushing Technique
If using alcohol does not eliminate the residue, then step up to using a gentle brush to agitate your cleaning fluid, probably rubbing alcohol in stage 3.
An old toothbrush will be ideal for this purpose. The bristles will have softened over time but will still be strong enough to get into all the nooks and crannies under the setting of the diamonds or in the crevices in many clasps.
After gently brushing the jewellery, give the piece a quick rinse in alcohol to flush away any loosened residue and wipe down with a clean microfibre cloth and allow the piece to dry thoroughly on a piece of kitchen paper.
5. Scrubbing With A Chemical
If you are still not satisfied with the results, it may be time for some chemical warfare! An ammonia solution will attack almost all residues that may still be present on your jewellery. As with rubbing alcohol, you will be able to find ammonia solutions at your chemist or possibly in the cleaning products section of your local supermarket.
The cleaning technique is the same as for cleaning with alcohol except that you should rinse the cleaned piece with water to remove the ammonia residue as this might lead to skin sensitivity if left behind. We suggest using rubber gloves for this cleaning task for the same reason!
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6. Polish Out Light Scratches From Gold
Gold is a soft metal; the higher the carat quality, the softer it will be. No matter how much care you take, the gold will pick up scratches over time. These scratches will make the gold look slightly dull and are unsightly.
Most people think that only a jeweller can only do polishing, but this is not true. Light scratches can be removed at home using a jewellery polishing pad that you can buy from many high street jewellers.
First, follow the steps above to get the jewellery as clean as possible.
Next, take the polishing pad, check the instructions (if any) and follow those, but in general, gently buff away the scratches. Deeper scratches will need professional attention. You will quickly see which scratches will polish away.
We do not recommend polishing white gold as this has a thin layer of rhodium that gives the gold its whiteness. You could polish this coating away or make it thin enough that it wears through faster than usual.
When you polish your gold in this way, do not do so very often - no more than once or twice per year.
Take care not to polish the gemstones. Restrict your work to areas that have no precious stones.
7. The All Diamond Alternative
Here at All Diamond, we think that cleaning your diamond jewellery is a great idea. We offer two cleaning products that are very effective and convenient to use.
The first is conveniently packaged jewellery wipes that you can keep in a handbag or travel baggage. You can use these safe wipes to keep your jewellery looking its best with a regular light clean.
The second product is an aerosol spray foam that contains gentle cleaning agents in a mess-free foam. This product gives a more thorough clean.
The advantage of these products is convenience and confidence. No need to track down cleaning materials and the process is speedy.
You can find the jewellery cleaning wipes here.
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The jewellery cleaning foam is available here.
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Now you know the basics of cleaning diamond jewellery you can keep your precious collection looking its best for a long time. We still recommend that you get your jewellery checked over every couple of years to make sure there are no loose gemstones, damaged clasps or other issues. Of course, when you carry out cleaning you are likely to spot any issues that need professional attention before there is a serious outcome.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
While, at some point, cleaning will be necessary, no matter how careful you are, the best rule is to take care of your jewellery when you wear it. For example, if possible, always remove your diamond rings before washing your hands in soap and water. These days we are using a lot of hand sanitisers, these can leave a film on the metal and gemstones that makes them look dull. Before you use a sanitiser, try to remove your rings. In addition, when buying a hand sanitiser, look out for alcohol-based products. Not only are alcohol-based sanitisers better at killing bacteria and viruses, but alcohol is much less likely to leave a film on your precious jewellery.
Avoid wearing jewellery in swimming pools; the chlorine can occasionally, over time, weaken gold and cause it to break. Likewise, don't wear jewellery in the sea. The salt will dry out and leave a salty film on the pieces, and sand in the water will cause scratching and damage to gemstones.
Please take a moment to browse our collections of carefully designed fine jewellery. Every piece is designed and handcrafted in the UK and offered at great value prices. We look forward to helping you to grow your diamond jewellery collection!
