Diamonds may be among the hardest substances on Earth, but diamond jewelry can still lose its brilliance and even become damaged if neglected. Whether you have a priceless diamond engagement ring or a favorite pair of diamond stud earrings, here is what you should do to make sure your diamond jewelry keeps looking its best.
Insurance
The first thing you should do if you have any valuable jewelry is to have it insured. This not only goes for all of your diamond jewelry, but for anything else of value that you want to protect – including gold and silver bullion. An insurance policy will cover your precious investments in the event of an accident, and some policies will even cover your valuables in case of theft. Many jewelry dealers offer insurance appraisals when you purchase anything from them, so make sure to ask about insurance whenever you buy any new pieces of diamond jewelry.
Keeping Your Diamonds Clean
Diamonds are extremely resistant to damage, but any piece of jewelry will lose its luster over time. This is especially true of those pieces that you wear regularly. For example, doing household chores or even using hand lotion will eventually cause the diamond on a ring to look dull.
To keep a diamond looking its best, it should be cleaned regularly. The best way to keep a piece of diamond jewelry clean is to use a jewelry cleaning kit, which can be purchased from just about any jewelry dealer. Otherwise, soaking a diamond in an ammonia-based household cleaner (such as window cleaner) overnight once or twice a week is usually enough to keep it clean. After you’ve let a diamond soak overnight, simply use a soft toothbrush to remove any excess dirt. Just remember that whatever cleaning solution you use to clean your diamond jewelry should only be used for that purpose (i.e. your regular window cleaner shouldn’t do double duty as a jewelry cleaner). You should also avoid using any abrasive cleaner or anything containing chlorine.
If you don’t want to take the time to clean your diamond jewelry yourself or you don’t feel comfortable handling something so valuable and delicate, you can always take your jewelry to a professional to have it cleaned. This is more expensive than doing the job yourself, but you can rest assured that your rings and diamond stud earrings will be in good hands and come back looking their best.
Storing Your Jewelry
A big part of taking care of any kind of jewelry is knowing how to store it safely. Diamonds and their mountings can be damaged more easily than you might think, so store them in individual cloth pouches when they’re not being used. If you want to display your jewelry in a case, make sure that the case is high enough to avoid being bumped or knocked down accidentally.