The Juli came on Saturday and as much as I hate to admit it, it's pretty awesome. I've had it for a little over 24 hours and already my other cleaning gadgets have greatly lost their appeal. I'll just do a little list of pros and cons but feel free to ask anything I left out.
Pros:
-So much control. The tip tuft on the brush head comes to a point so you can brush under your setting WITHOUT brushing your metal. It vibrates so microscopically that you just touch the brush to the area of the stone you want to clean and boom it's clean. (I too was worried about how rough it might be on my setting but i think it might actually be less harsh than a regular toothbrush because you can't avoid your metals when you brush the old school way, and with this you can).
-Speed/power: My very first time cleaning my ring took less than a minute and it was FILTHY (see pics). This i think might end up being the stand out benefit for me. I work with my hands, I cook, garden and homeschool kindergarteners all day so by the end of the day my diamonds are always dull and smudged with some foul substance. So cleaning them frequently and thoroughly isn't just a matter of looks, its a matter of hygiene. I have issues with how sanitary the reusable soap pens and jars of soaking solution are and actually find myself finishing with a soapy toothbrush anyway to get leftover grease and wash off the sticky soap. And my sonic bath and steamer both take several minutes to set up in addition to the cleaning time. I was barely using them once a month. With juli I feel like I am getting a deep jewelry store clean in seconds which is exactly what I was looking for.
-Safety: The ring holder built into the cap is nothing short of genius. If you've prone to dropping slippery rings, this will be your best friend. One feature I didn't notice until I took it out of the box is that the whole brush head is soft, smooth rubber. The whole thing. Once I had the vibrating brush head up against my jewelry I understood why- it protects your stones and settings from the inevitable contact with the non-bristle sides of the brush head. Imagine holding the hard edge of a sonic toothbrush to your diamonds (cringe). The juli head is quishy and you can fully hold it against your jewelry with zero concern for damage.
-The soap: I've been using Aquaphore on my hands to combat the hand sanitizer dryness and so I know my rings are covered in at lease one very greasy substance by the end of the day. This is the stuff my sonic bath and soaks NEVER removes. But the soap that comes with the juli is incredibly potent. Definitely more like a dishsoap than a mild jewelry soap. The soap seemed to melt off the oily stuff and erupted in this super satisfying cloud of suds as I brushed. It rinsed totally clean with warm water and left behind no sticky residue or streaks.
-Style: Another design feature that I really appreciate is how plain and sleek the unit looks standing alone. Unlike a bath or steamer or brightly colored containers of soap, you barely even notice a juli brush out on the counter and when you do it looks modern and nice and isn't an eyesore. Having it out means I will use it all the more which, like I said, is the point for me.
-Quality: (I haven't owned this long enough to attest to long-term quality so I will give another update in a few months). At first blush the packaging is gorgeous. Not that important but it definitely raises the expectation bar for the quality of the products inside and they did not disappoint. The brush unit is velvety smooth, rests nicely in the hand, and has a nice weight to it. If feels solid and well made which, if that's true, might explain the higher pricepoint. The vibration is quiet and almost hard to see, unlike the Connoiseurs brush which I threw out the same day I bought because it sounded like a jackhammer, couldn't fit under my rings and wasn't waterproof. Out of curiosity and to make sure I didn't damage it, I googled the symbols on the bottom of the juli and see that it is waterproof and opperational in up to 3 feet of water. Again, whatever had to happen under the hood to make this possible might have added cost. It's also rechargeable and i will not miss cords and batteries one bit.
CONS:
-At this price it would be nice if it cleaned all kinds of gems however I appreciate it's focus on diamonds because their popularity in wedding jewelry really does mean they face an ungodly level of dirt that most other gems don't. And it's about time they got their own cleaner.
-The price. It's just high. But now that I own it I don't feel as annoyed about it, especially if it lasts a few years or more.
-I wish there was a carrying case or something for travel.
There ya have it, I am really liking it so far. Will update if anything changes. Before and after pics below. Sorry for the low light, I was trying to catch the last rays of natural light. Also, sorry for the typos! Gotta run make dinner! Hope this helps.
