Cleaning Diamond at Home

[Renatozan]

I just bought a beautiful Hearts and Arrows diamond which is now set in a beautiful platinum semi-mount and my fiancee loves it. Now I'm wondering as to what is the best way to keep the ring looking its best and of course is a safe cleaning method. Any help with this is very much appreciated.RenatozanPS - I also want to give kudos to both Martin Sheffield of usagiacerteddiamonds (he sold me this beautiful hearts and arrows diamond) and to Bill Lieberum also known as Rockdoc (he checked out the diamond for me and was more than helpful to me in my buying decision). Anyone still looking for their diamond would be well advised to keep these names in mind.

 

[lawmax]

Congratulations Renatozan! The ring sounds gorgeous!I like to clean mine with sudsy ammonia and a soft brush. I soak it awhile and then give it a little brush and rinse in warm water. Cleanings at a local jeweler every so often are a good idea. I also take my ring off and store it in its box far from the kitchen sink when washing greasy dishes, making meatballs, etc. You get the idea, I'm sure. Diamonds attract and hold onto grease, lotion, etc.Some people recommend ultrasonic cleaners but good ones (especially ones that heat up) are expensive. Unfortunately, it seems that the cheap ones do a poor job of cleaning and the shaking can loosen the diamond. This is just what I've been told.Kudos to Martin and Bill!

lawmax

 

[rsilvers]

http://jewel.quiknet.com/noframes/cleaners.htm
A good one is useful for more than just diamonds. I use it to clean small parts. Get a big one and the entire family can use it. Coins, bicycle parts, etc. etc.

 

[haho]

Where can I buy sudsy ammonia to clean my diamond? The drugstores and supermarkets around here seem to only have plain ammonia. Is there a difference? If there is, is it important?

 

[Daisyma02]

When my Diamond is really Dirts I use a very soft toothbrush and a dab of toothepaste this works great and Really gets it clean. A Jeweler told me to do this. I have bought Sudsy amonia at the Larger Grocery Stores.

 

[optimized]

haho,

(the Arm & Hammer people, among other brands). Parsons' products are available from many retailers, and I can tell you positively that True Value Hardware Stores have access to their line of ammonia products through True Value warehouses.


Daisyma,

Although you're certainly not the first person I've heard mention using toothpaste on diamond jewelry, I've also heard a bunch of people caution against using toothpaste. My understanding is that the toothpaste doesn't hurt the diamond, but could damage the setting by causing excessive wear on the metals (toothpaste contains abrasives). You may want to look around the boards (or elsewhere) to see if you can find some more information about it, just in case....


-Tim
[/u]

 

[Daisyma02]

I am going to stop using then because I value my Jewelry too much to be scratching it. Do you use straight amonia? Not Diluted?

 

[optimized]

, mostly because it was convenient for me to get at the time I was in the market for a cleaner. One whiff of the pungent cleaning solution in the jar would tell anyone that it's basically an ammonia-based product containing a mild detergent. For all I know, it could be Parsons' Sudsy Ammonia with pink coloring added!

The thing I do really like about the Hagerty product (and some other competing products) is the "dip basket" that sits at the bottom of the jar. This allows you to basically drop a bunch of jewelry in the jar, let it soak a few minutes, then lift all the jewelry out of the solution using a little handle attached to the basket, saving you from having to get the stuff all over your hands. The basket makes for a fairly un-messy way to go about cleaning diamond jewelry. It also has a tiny little bristle brush included that allows you to brush off any stubborn dirt, but a soft toothbrush would work better, IMO.

-Tim
[/u]

 

[Aimee]

My best friend's mother has a 3 carat diamond from Harry Winston and she uses Fantastic household cleaner to clean it. This ring is always sparkling! It is georgeous! I now have a bottle of Fantastic under my sink at home and anytime my diamonds need a little pick me up I just use the Fantastic and a soft toothbrush, it works great!

 

[Mara]

My jeweler swears by Mr. Clean and water..I think it is 3 parts (or 4 parts) water to 1 part Mr. Clean. I think someone else seconded this last time I posted about it..but my jeweler thinks it works even better than the steam machine he uses in his store!

The 'Fantastic' is interesting..maybe I will try that!

I clean my diamonds with toothpaste when I am lazy..hadn't heard about the metal part...my jeweler also said that toothpaste works fine for a quickie fix.

I am interested in an ultrasonic cleanser but have not begun looking at this yet. Guess I could while I wait for my ring to be done and the proposal to happen.