New member of the SI ultrasonic club!

[monarch64]

Ok, so I followed the flock and ordered my SI cleaner just last Thursday, and I got it today when I got home from work! I''ve already used it to clean my rings, pendant, and my husband''s wedding band...WOW

I love it!!!

I purchased it through the SI ebay store, and it arrived in perfectly refurbished condition, brown boxes and all. I paid a little more than some of you did ($44.97 buy it now price) and all told with tax and S&H it was $62.04, which is not too shabby!

Thanks to all those who posted positive comments about their SI cleaners...it made my buying decision WAY easy, since I have never purchased anything from e-bay before.

Question: is it alright to clean my invisible-set diamond wedding band in the US? I read/heard somewhere you''re not supposed to brush the stones because they could fall out, but after reading all 15 or so pages of the ultrasonic thread, I couldn''t find the answer to this question. FYI: nothing fell out when I cleaned it just now.

 

[FireGoddess]

Monarch, that''s how much I paid for my SIL''s unit - I wanted one "like new" as opposed to "less than new", and that''s the price ya gotta pay.

But it''s worth it now that the new ones are $100 + tax! I don''t know the answer to your question about invisible set stones as I don''t have any of those, but I will say happy cleaning!!!

 

[monarch64]

Good to know you spent a little more, too, F&I! I have a friend who bought hers at retail price, plus tax, before I even saw this thread last fall, so I considered this price to be a major deal!

 

[monarch64]

Anyone, anyone, on whether you can US invisible set princesses???? I would like to clean my rings every day, but I''m afraid to without asking here or pestering my jeweler, lol!

 

[Mara]

monarch i would go ahead and clean the ring because if the stones are going to be loose or fall out, i''d prefer it in the US rather than elsewhere!! also previously someone had said that if the ring doesn''t get cleaned and possibly are held in there by dirt (or similar) that they may come loose with a good cleaning, so better you find out that now than later??

i still adore my US!!! such a great purchase.

 

[monarch64]

Gotcha, thanks for your response! None of my stones fell out during the first cleaning...we''ll see how daily cleanings treat the ring, but you''re right, better to have them fall into a contained area rather than somewhere else! Loose or not, they''re totally cleaner, and I have to thank you and Mr. Clean for the added sparkly factor!

 

[AndyRosse]

Yay monarch, I''m glad you joined "the club!"

I still love love love love mine!

 

[butterfly 17]

COngrats on joining the club. I was kind of feeling left out about returning the one I had, so I went and ordered another one. Did anyone notice that their prices have gone up since all of us have been buying them?

 

[monarch64]

I bet they have gone up since the big PS trend! The cheapest I saw them for was $39.97, but the buy it now price was $44.97, I believe. Oh, they also have the new and improved "deluxe" model on ebay now, the one with the two trays, in case anyone''s interested!

3:43 p.m....I am counting down the next 45 minutes til I can rush home and CLEAN MY RINGS! Tomorrow I promised the ladies in my office I''d bring it to work and clean their rings for them, ha ha!

 

[Mara]

haha monarch, Mr Clean is the best!!!

 

[hlmr]

Date: 2/20/2006 10:34:13 PM
Author: monarch64
Anyone, anyone, on whether you can US invisible set princesses???? I would like to clean my rings every day, but I'm afraid to without asking here or pestering my jeweler, lol!

Hi monarch64:

Sorry to be so late in responding but I just saw this thread.

I clean my invisible set princess ring all the time in the ultrasonic. I brush the stones with a soft toothbrush too and I never worry about it at all.

How is it going? Does your ring looking much cleaner now?

Heather

 

[monarch64]

Hi Heather--I have cleaned my ring several times now and no stones have come out, so I''m taking that as a good sign that the US won''t be a problem. I''ve been brushing my WB with the little brush that comes with the jar of cleaner for the last couple of years, but I''ve been REALLY GENTLE, lol!

I brought the US to work with me this morning, and I''ve already cleaned everyone in the office''s rings and earrings, ha ha! I might have to invest in a SI just for the office...how funny is that?! Everyone''s morale is boosted with clean rings, I think!

 

[hlmr]

Yep, there''s something about having clean rings that makes you feel like a million bucks!!

Glad to hear you are enjoying it (and your co-workers too) lol

Heather

 

[Rosebud8506]

I am happy to report that I did go and purchase the US at SI over the weekend and I LOVE it! My husband was loving it even more when we had people over our house Saturday night and he started voluntarily cleaning everyone''s jewelry!! He he.

I bought the newer version - I believe it was the one that went for $119.00. It does come with the silver polish cleaner and the other solution, so why not.

A question: How often are you supposed to change the water and solution in it? I will probably get addicted to cleaning it a few times a week.

A great purchase

 

[Mara]

i clean my rings almost daily and i use new solution every time, i don''t leave the solution in the container. i think it was FG(?) who was having problems with the lid of the container getting gunky and kind of eaten away, which i think may have been determined that the ammonia and chemicals possibly shouldn''t be left long term in the container.

 

[ephemery1]

Date: 2/22/2006 10:20:15 AM
Author: monarch64

I brought the US to work with me this morning, and I''ve already cleaned everyone in the office''s rings and earrings, ha ha! I might have to invest in a SI just for the office...how funny is that?! Everyone''s morale is boosted with clean rings, I think!

My fiance actually asked if he could bring my US to work the other morning, as he''d spent so much time talking about how sparkly my ring was, his female coworker wanted to try it!! He said she set it up on her desk until the clicking started to become a bit obvious, then moved it to the bathroom. I asked how many times she ran it through, and he said three that he knew of... haha. And then she bought her own off of Ebay the next day!

 

[sumbride]

I ordered mine today! I''ve been debating waiting and asking for it for Christmas but that''s (gasp) 4 months away!!!

My ring was so sparkly when I first put it on and now, a couple weeks later, it''s looking kind of dingy. My little jar of cleaner isn''t doing much. That and I wore it while picking steamed crabs this weekend... I did my best to keep it clean, but, um.... that might be a little bit of old bay under the stone.

 

[FireGoddess]

Not me, no gunk on my lid! Since I make my own cleaning solution, I just dump it out and rinse the tank every time!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 8/29/2006 3:00:30 PM
Author: FireGoddess
Not me, no gunk on my lid! Since I make my own cleaning solution, I just dump it out and rinse the tank every time!

it was missgotrocks who had the gunky lid..

 

[flower12]

I got mine today!!! and very surprised how all diamond sparkle after Ultrasonic

just like crispy clean & icy sparkle

 

[Christa]

Love, love, love the SI US! I tried a cheap US (fine until it died after 3 months) and the Jewel Jet (not too impressed and re-eBayed it at a profit, hee hee) before I heeded the Pricescope consensus. And get this--I got a non-refurbished one still in the box from a private seller for $30 including shipping! She got it as a gift or something and wasn''t interested. I love bargains almost as much as I love clean diamonds.

 

[Tybee]

I realized that I never jumped on here to say how much I LOVE mine!
At first I didn''t really notice a difference, but now I really do.
I clean my rings almost daily. I figure it''s okay if Mara does it! The payoff happened last weekend when we
were out to dinner and the bartender (from far away) said, "Wow, that''s a nice ring!" Mine''s less than a carat,
but OH how it flashes and sparkles after it''s cleaning! I love love love it! Made me relax about upgrading for
a while now. (not forever, mind you, just for now!)
I also wash my eternity band (with the raphael setting) in it. I agree. I''d rather lose my stones in the US cleaner than anywhere else, at least I could find it. No loose stones to speak of yet, though.

 

[Christa]

I did lose a stone out of a shared-prong cross pendant in the ultrasonic, and I was just glad it came out there! I put it in a little bag with the pendant and the jeweler put it right back in, so I think my $30 US paid for itself right there--if I''d had to pay for a replacement stone (it was tiny, but still) it would have cost at least that much.

 

[Kiwiblossom]

YAY ladies! I bought one too (thanks to you ladies~!) and it''s scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I''d been checking UPS''s tracking system so psychotically, that I had to bookmark it instead and EVEN THEN I have it minimized on my computer screen at all times! Eek!

Anyway, I bought the deluxe model on ebay in the LIKE NEW condition. I live in California and the total came out to around $62. I did buy an older model a few years back and it never worked. I think I may have used it improperly but I have to say that I was disappointed (back then). I had used the water and ammonia in the exact measurements that the booklet suggested. After reading through PS though, I think the ammonia wasn''t enough and I guess the dishwashing soap + Mr. Clean or Windex adds an added kick to the cleaning process? Oh yeah, and the hot water too.. I had just used.. cold water or lukewarm water..

In any case, I''m anxious for it to come tomorrow because now that I''ve printed FIREGODDESS''s "recipe", I think I''m ready for tomorrow. I''ve already asked all the ladies in the office to bring their jewelry tomorrow so that I can test it out (I don''t have an ering yet - nor do I own any fancy jewelry).... Just so that I don''t make a mistake like the last time (few years back), am I understanding the usage techniques to be as follows?

1. Use hot water
2. add either ammonia, windex, mr clean but at least fill it up to 1/3 of the tank and not a couple drops
3. add a drop or two of dishwashing liquid
4. I will have a platinum ering with pave on 3-sides of the band.. as long as it''s set properly, it should be fine right?
5. Use on normal setting but run a couple cycles if I don''t see an improvement

Is this right? I just finished reading through all 19 pages of the other UC thread and I read so much that I''m confused now. I love PS and all you PS ladies.... Too bad my bf doesn''t... I have new "oh, look what I found out on PS today" moments where he feels that I''m lecturing and he says that all he hears is the sound of cash registers ringing in his head.

Either way, I love you guys!

 

[eks6426]

Monarch--Can you post the link to ebay on where you got your ultrasonic? I''ve been debating on one too and I''m not sure what the SI is....I''ve been looking at Gem Oro Sparkle Spa. What''s the difference between the SI and the Gem Oro?

 

[Christa]

Date: 9/22/2006 9:02:23 AM
Author: IslandDreams
Monarch--Can you post the link to ebay on where you got your ultrasonic? I''ve been debating on one too and I''m not sure what the SI is....I''ve been looking at Gem Oro Sparkle Spa. What''s the difference between the SI and the Gem Oro?

I''m not Monarch, but SI refers to the Sharper Image ultrasonic. Sharper Image sells their own refurbished models on eBay for under $50, or you could probably do even better on the price if you want to spend some time playing the bidding game. Here''s one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Sharper-Image-Ultrasonic-Jewelry-Cleaner_W0QQitemZ230031763966QQihZ013QQcategoryZ494QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And Island Dreams, to avoid disappointment

, I would use hot water (microwave it to almost-boiling), a tablespoon or so each of Mr. Clean and ammonia, and run it on high. Maybe twice in a row for that first cleaning. I don''t have pave, though . . .

 

[Kiwiblossom]

Hmm.. I got my SI cleaner today via UPS. I ripped it open at the office and couldn''t wait to get home so I asked everyone in the office if they had anything they wanted cleaned. MY coworker (who recently got engaged to a fireman) gave me her ring to clean. Her ering looks antique but it''s not and it has tons of micro pave diamonds here and there. We tossed it in there with some squirts of windex, dishwashing soap and hot water. I ran it on normal once and opened up the lid.... to find..... a micropave rolling around in the blue tank.

OMG. I didn''t know what to say. I just froze. She has been engaged for roughly 4 months now and 2 months ago, one of the micro paves on the other side had popped out - she realized it one morning at the office...

So~ she went back and got it replaced. However, a part of me tells me that her ring was probably just a result of faulty craftsmanship, but then.. I can''t help but feel bad. The ring was sparkly and clean but... because that micro pave popped out, I couldn''t help but wish I had not thrown it in there. Better loose in the tank than anywhere else, right? Well, I still feel bad right now. I got home from work and I can''t bare to put anything in there now cuz I feel like whatever goes in will come out looking crappy. Oh yeah, another reason why I feel so bad... she had a RHR that she threw in there too with her ering... it was a white gold ring with diamonds on it. Anyway, when that one came out, I saw like.. gold dust floating around all over in the tank.... So I quickly picked up her ring and saw.... that it had gone from white gold to... yellowish gold. Not full on yellow but CLEARLY yellowish. I feel so bad. Are her rings just poor quality rings? or is this SI machine stronger than I thought?

Sigh...