The saying goes that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and yet many women treat their diamond jewelry much worse than they would ever treat a friend. Diamond experts recommend specific methods of treating diamonds carefully to ensure they last a lifetime or longer. Any old cleaner won’t do; in fact many cleaning solutions can cause abrasions that will dull the gem’s shine.
Even if you do have a solid cleaning regime for your diamonds, there is always the chance that as time goes by that you need to resize your ring. Because of the sentimental nature of diamond rings, it is often stressful for someone to willingly have their ring altered. The owner usually worries that the ring will be irreparably damaged. Here are a few tips on how to keep your diamond jewelry sparkling and well fitting.
Do Diamonds Really Need to Be Treated Gently?
Diamonds are known for being incredibly hard gems. On the Mohs Hardness Scale, it ranks as the hardest substance known to man at a solid 10 ranking. But this does not mean that diamonds can be treated carelessly and still retain their luster. There are multiple possible causes of damage when it comes to diamond jewelry. With a little knowledge, and a little care, keeping your diamond jewelry beautiful doesn’t need to be complicated.
Why Do Diamonds Need to Be Treated Carefully?
It surprises some to hear, but standard household items can damage diamonds. Common unsavory items such as oil and grease can permanently adhere to diamonds. Harsh cleaning solvents can stain or discolor bright gems. It’s an easy fix to remove your ring or wear gloves before engaging in any cleaning jobs. Also, the hardest substance known to man is diamonds, so they should never be stored together to risk the chance of the stones gauging each other.
How to Resize Your Ring With Less Worry.
If you need to resize your ring, you aren’t alone. Some couples need to resize a ring before a wedding, others have their ring resized 40 years after the wedding. Experts recommend that a ring be sized up or down absolutely no more than two sizes. To increase or decrease past that point puts an undue amount of stress upon the metal. The ring also needs to be made of silver, gold, or platinum to be resized. Other metals such as Tungsten are simply too hard to be cut and resized properly. The goal is for the ring to appear completely untouched once it’s been resized.
The quality of a diamond is decided by four factors: the cut, the clarity, the color, and the carat. Damaging any one of these factors drops the item’s value, and is an unsightly blight upon a sentimental piece of jewelry. Taking care to protect your rings from harsh chemicals, grease, oil, and yes, other diamonds will help them stay whole and sparkling. Even if you need to resize your ring, its beauty should still remain so long as it is sized up or down carefully.