Cleaning engagement ring

[nimmy7]

Does cleaning an engagement ring make a big difference?

I walked into Tiffany's today to look at wedding Bands. I got my fiance her Engagement ring from Brian Gavin. For kicks she compared a halo ring from tiffanys to her halo ring.

Boy did the Tiffany ring shine more! I noticed the difference right right away. I told her, its probably because these are polished and cleaned. You havent cleaned yours since you got it (6 months ago).

I am going to go get her ring cleaned. Will it be that big of a difference? Why was the Tiffany's ring shining so much brighter?

Any tips on getting a proper cleaning?

Thanks!

 

[JulieN]

If you want it to be like Tiffany's, you have to clean it 2-3x a day!

 

[Gypsy]

HAHAHAHA! Yes.
Yes. Yes.

A hundred times yes.

Your fiance should learn how to properly clean the ring. And do so twice a week.

Now she can get a cleaning machine.

Or she can do what I do.

I boil some water. Add Dawn to it and agitate it. Put the rings in and soak the rings. After about 7 minutes take the rings out (keep the water) then brush them all over with a soft tooth brush. Then put them back in the water. After another 5 minutes take them out and brush them again. Then rinse under cool water. And dry on a cloth that won't leave lint.

Most PSers clean their rings several times a week, if not a couple times a day.

 

[momhappy]

There's really no way to tell. It's possible that her ring was dirty or it's possible that the diamonds on the Tiffany ring were of better quality (and that's what contributed to the sparkle). However, keep in mind, that a brand new ring under specific lighting is going to sparkle like crazy. Certainly, if she doesn't clean her ring, then it's not going to sparkle and shine as much. I honestly can't believe that someone wouldn't clean their jewelry. I clean mine DAILY. Jewelry, especially rings, attracts a lot of dirt & grime and they need routine TLC to keep them looking like they are supposed to.

 

[ame]

OH yes. Absolutely! Keeping it clean will make all the difference, and I bet you any money when that sucker is clean and kept clean, your lady's ring is going to outshine those Tiffany rings.

I use Sparkle Sparkle spray cleaner and warm water most days, and other days dish soap and warm water. Either way, a little brush to get any gunk off is a necessity. And drying well is a requirement. I clean mine at least once a day, and I barely even wear my rings. Clean rings are happy rings.

 

[nimmy7]

Thanks. I will give her these tips.

I was going to take it to a jeweler and they mentioned they would polish the ring (aka put it in some type of machine) would you guys recommend that? what should i make sure they don't do. Its a platinum ring.


Gypsy how do you feel about the below machine?
http://www.amazon.com/Magnasonic-Professional-Ultrasonic-Instruments-CD2800/dp/B00HZVYAVM/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

[darkfury18]

I use a similar ultrasonic cleaner from harbor freight. I use the cleaner with water and some dawn, then rinsed and blown dry with a can of compressed air. It does wonders and only takes about fifteen seconds.

 

[Gypsy]

Nimmy, I don't use a machine, so I don't know anything about them. Hoepfully someone else will be able to chime in with their experiences.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Daily ring cleaner here also. It's like a car ... maintenance keeps it performing well and looking good.

 

[heididdl]

i never take my diamonds off except to clean (or when my sister is in town she's jealous) so soap et al gets in my stud and food gets in my fingers from cooking . So I clean them at least 1x a week usually in my sonic cleaner with a little dawn in it.

 

[EvangelineG]

I don't remember the exact quote, but some wise PSer, around the time I was upgrading my ering, said that when you own an ideal cut diamond it is your duty to keep it clean. These diamonds represent a tiny percentage of the best cut diamonds in the world. They represent a huge investment in labour and skill. All it takes is a bit of grime or a fingerprint to compromise that wonderful, rare, hard-won light performance, so when you are lucky enough to own one- keep it clean!

I took this advice to heart, and clean mine at least every couple of days, using a method similar to what Gypsy described above.

So yeah, after 6 months of grime, I am not surprised at all that the spotless Tiffany ring outshone your fiance's!

 

[motownmama]

I clean mine every couple days in the ultrasonic. I'll look at what mine is. $29 - seems a bit cheap - as in you get what you pay for. My first one broke quickly. I've had this one for awhile now. I use the Bliss Ultrasonic liquid cleaner in it.

 

[liaerfbv]

I too used to never clean my rings.

Then I put a baby toothbrush in a holder on my bathroom counter right next to the hand soap. I got into the habit of grabbing the brush and doing a light scrub every time I washed my hands in the bathroom. So I soap up my hands, grab the brush and give a few quick swipes, rinse everything and go. It made a huge difference and was enough of my still "normal" routine that it wasn't difficult to incorporate. I still try and deep clean at least once a month, but the daily soaping cuts through the grime and the brush gets the majority of the gunk.

 

[Niel]

I used to clean mine with sitting in a cleaning solution then brush with a baby toothbrush.
My diamonds aren't in a simple peg head, they have that band in the head, making it hard for my toothbrush to get at the diamonds. As I do not have pave (and had a BB&B gift card collecting dust) I bought an ultrasonic cleaner. Oh my gosh the difference is night and day. Hopefully this pic isn't too small,but ita obvious there was grime around the outside of the table in the first pic, completely gone in the second (and I had cleaned it the day before)

As yours is a halo you wouldn't want to use an ultrasonic, its bad for the pave...but just an example of what cleaning can do even when you think your ring is clean.

 

[ame]

I don't use a machine either. It's all by hand here.

 

[ecf8503]

Cleaning makes a HUGE difference. I have an US cleaner but rarely use it, as I'm a fan of the Connoisseur's solution in the red jar - it's quick, effective, comes with a brush, and all I do is soak, scrub, rinse w distilled water, and dry... and voila!

 

[momhappy]

Cleaning makes a HUGE difference. I have an US cleaner but rarely use it, as I'm a fan of the Connoisseur's solution in the red jar - it's quick, effective, comes with a brush, and all I do is soak, scrub, rinse w distilled water, and dry... and voila!

Same here. I have an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner and rarely use it. It takes up too much space and quite frankly, I don't feel like it gets my jewelry any cleaner than when I do it by hand. There's lots of effective products out there and I've heard that Dawn works well (although, I've never used it). I also had a jeweler friend who said that Mr. Clean was best for ring cleaning. These are my all-time favorite (and yes, I buy them by the 3-pack ): http://www.amazon.com/Connoisseurs-Diamond-Dazzle-Stik-Jewelry/dp/B004LYPMJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421176331&sr=8-1&keywords=dazzle+stick
The paint brush-style head allows you to get in tiny areas (like the donut beneath my halo) and it makes my rings sparkle like crazy.

 

[kenny]

Does cleaning an engagement ring make a big difference?
...
You havent cleaned yours since you got it (6 months ago).

SIX MONTHS!



I clean mine daily, sometimes even more often.

 

[T L]

Diamonds are natural grease collectors. Even the process of washing your hands can make them look duller from soap scum.

 

[Niel]

Cleaning makes a HUGE difference. I have an US cleaner but rarely use it, as I'm a fan of the Connoisseur's solution in the red jar - it's quick, effective, comes with a brush, and all I do is soak, scrub, rinse w distilled water, and dry... and voila!

That's exactly what I used to do... I still think the cleaner is better for myself personally, but again I think ita those bands in the heads of my ring, any brush I use just doesn't get into it.

 

[kenny]

nimmy, a big reason diamonds need frequent cleaning to put on their light show is actually different from what we might think.
Sure, a dirty surface blocks some of the light whether on a window of your house or on a diamond, but there's another totally separate thing going on in a dirty diamond.

The reason your Brian Gavin diamond is so sparkly is all the angles/facet are in just the right place.
They reflect light at precise angles to return the most fire and brilliance to your eyes instead of letting light leak out the side or bottom of the diamond.

The technical reason has to do with the index of refraction of diamond material meeting air.
Air, not oil/gunk.

When a diamond is clean, with only air touching the diamond, light that is traveling in the diamond will reflect at some exact angle when it strikes the air/diamond surface of the pavilion.
But when the pavilion is coated with gunk that light will reflect at a different angle.
Gunk converts a well-cut diamond into a poorly-cut one.

 

[KobiD]

I've been playing with the camera a bit over the last few weeks having a go at capturing some detail in my partners engagement ring. While I don't notice a couple days grime buildup with the naked eye, its very visible once zoomed in.

 

[RetroTreeGal]

I love this post! I'm a ring cleaning fiend!

Ok I gotta share a story.
I host a book club, which as any woman knows, is 25% book discussion and 75% wine drinking and laughing. A new gal showed up last Friday to our gathering, and she had a gorgeous haloed bezel set radiant cut engagement ring on. As the wine made me bolder, I finally grabbed her hand and asked her about it. Long story short, she gotten engaged 3 months ago and had never cleaned it. I quickly asked if I could take it away from her, disappear upstairs, and clean it with Windex and the dedicated toothbrush I keep in my bathroom for my rings. She agreed, and when I returned, the thing ablaze with fire that it only minimally had a few minutes ago, she said "oh wow!"

Yes, cleaning matters. You spend a relative fortune on a relatively tiny object for its fire and sparkle, might as well keep it maxed out with fire and sparkle!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Yes, makes a huge difference. BUT for some reason my rings never look as good as the designer rings in their stores and my stones are well cut. I took my friend's whiteflash ACA and it also didn't look as good but it wasn't store clean.

 

[MollyMalone]

Since it's been 6 months since the ring had any cleaning, nimmy, I 'd first let the jeweler "have at it"; their steamer will be more effective than any at-home method.
fyi here's the Cleaning page Leon Mege has posted on his web site:
https://leonmege.com/index.php/rules-of-engagement/resources/cleaning

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I love Tiffany. I wish they had a take out clean service. Gosh my stuff looks shabby!

I clean mine own rings once a month. Or so.

When stuck in traffic, boredom prevails and I use my (sunglass) microfiber cloth to tidy. I start to feel guilty.

Then the traffic progresses...and that all passes!

Of course I clean my earrings more often. But not much.

cheers--Sharon

 

[jerichosmom]

My stone looked horrible and I clean my rings daily... but this (see below)still happened! I had to have the stone removed! I did the hot water soak in an ultrasonic and scrubbed and steamed it with the espresso machine. Still couldn't get it out! I was light on the US as it loosened my stone once but I never expected the grime under the basket. Am considering the gem oro cleaner but I'm not sure if it's any better than my current method.

 

[ame]

What is going on there? It almost looks corroded?!

 

[jerichosmom]

It's just a LOT of dirt and grime! I've only had it for 1 year and wore the ring 2-3/week. It's handforged by ERD so I wonder if the pavillion sat so tightly on the basket that water/steam/aggitation couldn't get the stuff out. I'm trying to figure out to do with it now. Put a colored stone in it? Something really shallow so that I could get underneath the basket and clean it? All I know is that I'm looking into a more open setting that would allow me to clean under the pavillion. I stopped into DK after my stone was removed and Amy commented that basket settings accummulate a lot of grime but I've never noticed anyone posting about this on PS. It was an expensive setting to only have for a year.

 

[ame]

It's just a LOT of dirt and grime! I've only had it for 1 year and wore the ring 2-3/week. It's handforged by ERD so I wonder if the pavillion sat so tightly on the basket that water/steam/aggitation couldn't get the stuff out. I'm trying to figure out to do with it now. Put a colored stone in it? Something really shallow so that I could get underneath the basket and clean it? All I know is that I'm looking into a more open setting that would allow me to clean under the pavillion. I stopped into DK after my stone was removed and Amy commented that basket settings accummulate a lot of grime but I've never noticed anyone posting about this on PS. It was an expensive setting to only have for a year.

Yes it sure is. My limited basket-setting experience is that they are a pain to clean. My Vatche Royal Crown was thankfully pretty easy though on the sides where the cathedrals were, it required steaming more frequently than I'd have preferred because it just seemed to get oilier faster. That's the closest to baskety that setting really got, since it was open. When I reset after that was damaged, I made sure to get one that was easier to clean, and went Tiffany style.