Clean Fine Jewelry Wedding Bands | Wedding Rings
How to Clean Fine Jewelry Rings
There is no reason that your rings and other fine jewelry should look dull or tarnished. Occasional care and maintenance will keep your wedding rings looking bright and fabulous for many years to come. Follow these tips for easy care and cleaning of all your fine jewelry rings.
General Jewelry Care Tips
- Take your rings off when handling household cleaners and chemicals, such as bleach and ammonia. They can cause discoloration or damage the setting.
- Whenever possible, remove your rings before bathing, showering, washing dishes, or applying lotion. Soaps, lotions, and other grooming products can cause a film on fine jewelry and diminish the shine.
- Remove rings and other jewelry before playing sports or doing rough manual work so that you don’t jar the stones loose or damage the setting.
- Carefully store your jewelry in a cloth bag or padded box when you are not wearing it.
Individual Care and Cleaning for Stones and Metals
Different stones and jewelry metals require specialized care and cleaning. Use the following tips to care for each type of jewelry.
Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires
You can clean your diamonds by hand or with an ultrasonic cleaner. Rubies and Sapphires should be cleaned by hand. To clean gemstones by hand:
- Use Windex or a homemade solution of one part ammonia and six parts water.
- Gently clean the diamond or other stone with a soft bristle brush.
- Be careful to avoid scratching softer stones, or breaking the soft metal of the setting.
- Rinse the cleaning solution away with clean water.
- Dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.
Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is a soft, malleable metal that will tarnish over time. Due to the soft nature of the metal, it is best to keep silver jewelry away from harsh chemicals such as bleach and chlorine. To clean sterling silver wipe and polish the jewelry with a silver polishing cloth[, provided with your jewelry at purchase].
Sterling silver jewelry without gemstones can be deep cleaned with this easy home solution:
- Line the bottom of a shallow pan with aluminum foil.
- Fill the pan with salt water.
- Place the silver jewelry in the water and move it around against the foil with a wooden spoon.
- Once the silver is shiny again, remove it from the salt water, rinse it with clean water, and dry it with a lint-free cloth.
Protect your silver jewelry from tarnishing and scratching by storing it carefully away from other objects or jewelry.
Gold
Gold is a malleable metal that will scratch easily if not properly cared for. It is softer in higher concentrations, so you have to be more careful with 18K gold than with 10K gold. Gold is resistant to tarnish, but can easily get dirty and smudged over time.
To clean your gold rings:
- Use Windex or a homemade solution of one part ammonia and six parts water.
- Gently clean the ring with a soft cloth.
- Rinse the cleaning solution away with clean water.
- Dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.
Platinum
Platinum is a strong metal that is resistant to tarnish. If your platinum jewelry has lost some luster, restore it by cleaning the piece with Windex or a homemade solution of one part ammonia and six parts water.
Titanium
Titanium rings can be cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner or cleaned by hand. To clean your titanium ring by hand:
- Diminish the appearance of minor scratches by using a cream metal polish on the ring.
- Gently wash the ring with liquid dish soap and water to remove polish, dirt and grease.
- Rinse and dry thoroughly.
- Shine the ring with Windex or a homemade solution of one part ammonia and six parts water.
Share This Page:
