Hot to cold and thermal shock with steaming

[Txlnghrn]

I have been lurking on here for awhile and I had a question hopefully someone can help me with! I have a shark brand steamer (for home use) i attempted to use to steam my brand new e ring and I didn't know not to wash it under cool tap water afterward until reading it on this wonderful website and now I am worried that this is exactly what I did(can't remember for sure )! Honestly there want much steam and I was holding the ring the whole time with my fingers during this so obviously the ring/steam didn't get very hot or I would have felt it. I gave up after about a minute or so realizing it wasn't going to work and if I did then run it under the tap could I have damaged my diamond?? Is this enough to cause thermal shock and worsen a feather?? I am just so nervous I did something that could have permanent consequences

 

[TitanCi]

I have been lurking on here for awhile and I had a question hopefully someone can help me with! I have a shark brand steamer (for home use) i attempted to use to steam my brand new e ring and I didn't know not to wash it under cool tap water afterward until reading it on this wonderful website and now I am worried that this is exactly what I did(can't remember for sure )! Honestly there want much steam and I was holding the ring the whole time with my fingers during this so obviously the ring/steam didn't get very hot or I would have felt it. I gave up after about a minute or so realizing it wasn't going to work and if I did then run it under the tap could I have damaged my diamond?? Is this enough to cause thermal shock and worsen a feather?? I am just so nervous I did something that could have permanent consequences

Not an expert, but I want to take a stab at it.

My guess is no.

Especially if you couldn't feel the steam on your finger (I can feel that ish from the iron when it steams, so I know when it gets hot), or unless you have some messed up nerves or something..
Diamonds are formed from an extreme amount of pressure, but I'm not sure how that relates to water vapor at 100 deg C. I would say you're ok, plus you were probably only warming the surface of the stone and not having it boil in water for a long period of time and then running cold water on it. But then again, that's just my uneducated guess!

 

[yssie]

You aren't going to have done any damage - especially if it wasn't even hot to touch. Absolutely nothing to worry about.

*Assuming the diamond isn't very poor clarity with lots of surface-reaching inclusions, and assuming it's not clarity enhanced by filling. And assuming it's actually a diamond - don't try that with your other stones!!

 

[Txlnghrn]

Thank you! I just feel like such an idiot that I didn't know better than to run a steamed ring under the tap and have been beating myself up over the idea that I could have damaged my ring already! I didn't touch the stone after steaming but I know that the part of the ring I did touch at the back was not particularly warm after the steam and during the steam I was holding the ring with my bare fingers with no discomfort at all. The steam was coming out of the spout without much pressure and more cloud like and also I was probably holding the ring farther away from the spout than one normally would since I was holding it bare handed which is probably why I didn't feel any discomfort from the steam. The stone might have been warmer but since I didn't touch it I am just not sure and I guess that has been what has been freaking me out! I have a few feathers but none of them reach the surface and the independent appraiser didn't mention that they were of any structural risk. Fingers crossed I didn't make one bigger or something awful like that! Thank you for your help and expertise as it seems I have a lot to learn!

 

[yssie]

Diamonds are hardy stones, and the cutting process is very stressful. You *can* damage them but in this case it doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about. You could always take it in to a local store or repair vendor and have the bench take a look if you want confirmation.

 

[oldminer]

Please be aware that taking a diamond bought elsewhere to a local retailer may get you as much mis-information as good information. The typical store tends to beat up any diamond they didn't sell. You can't know if you are going to be told the truth by an expert or a lie by a scoundrel, so you simply cannot rely on that approach.

Diamonds, other than ones with glass filling, are not subject to thermal shock damage when quenched in tap water from far higher temperatures than that of H2O steam. However, it is best to be careful and not shock any gemstone because as much as I say it makes no difference, someone may come up with some tale of how big a deal it was for them. Some surprising things can possibly happen, so shocking your diamond is not the best approach. A good steamer, one with good strong steam, will do a nice job cleaning up a diamond and I doubt anyone ever broke a diamond with a steamer. If they did, then the diamond was likely a poor clarity with durability issues already present or a diamond with wildly intense internal strain in its crystal structure that everyone was unaware of. That would be exceedingly rare.

So, don't worry.....

 

[yssie]

Please be aware that taking a diamond bought elsewhere to a local retailer may get you as much mis-information as good information. The typical store tends to beat up any diamond they didn't sell. You can't know if you are going to be told the truth by an expert or a lie by a scoundrel, so you simply cannot rely on that approach.

Well... I suppose they could tell you that your diamond is damaged beyond all repair and - oh, here's the perfect replacement...

I dunno. The local places in my neck of the woods are pretty good, actually, maybe I just got lucky. An independent appraisal is usually the best approach but I couldn't in good conscience suggest OP spend $100+ for reassurance on just this specific issue, since the odds of there even being an issue are right around rock bottom. Fortunately!!

*Edited - yikes!

 

[Txlnghrn]

Thank you thank you thank you all! I feel much better and I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions! I think I got myself all worked up over nothing!Just out of curiosity and for future reference, can jewlers or appraisers tell if a feather has gotten larger or is new besides consulting the paperwork for the diamond? Are there telltale signs like tiny stress fractures that
Show that a feather has grown or a new one has been created? Thank you!!!!!

 

[denverappraiser]

Bench jewelers routinely point direct torch fire at diamonds and then quench them and they do just fine (this isn't a great idea for other reasons but they do it anyway and I've never heard of anyone quench crackling a diamond). Steam is way less aggressive than this. You'lll be fine. As David points out above, there are other stones like opals, emeralds and pearls, that I definitely wouldn't let near a steamer but gold, platinum and diamonds will clean up nicely. The only risk is that you might knock out a small side stone what was only being held in by the dirt but it's a definite stretch to blame that on the steamer.

 

[GreenBling]

What effect the steam could have on the gold though? I had an old WG ring that turned yellow after years of hot water treatment - i used to soak the ring in boiling hot water to clean the diamond. Don't know if the two relates.

 

[PintoBean]

What effect the steam could have on the gold though? I had an old WG ring that turned yellow after years of hot water treatment - i used to soak the ring in boiling hot water to clean the diamond. Don't know if the two relates.

I'm going to guess that it was the rhodium plating wearing off over time, which would have happened whether or not the ring was treated with hot water.