Scrubbing diamonds

[Bliss]

I did a search on scrubbing... but didn't find much so forgive me if this question has been asked before.

Can you REALLY scrub a diamond daily (with a toothbrush) without eroding the polish over a long period of time?

I know the diamond is tops on the Mohs scale and you need diamond dust to polish a diamond. But if a diamond's polish is so indestructible, why do we get them repolished from time to time?

I saw searches where some members were advised to get their inherited stones repolished. I'm assuming it's from wear and tear. So if I scrub the heck out of my diamond with a toothbrush every day, would it require repolishing at some point? I should be gentler to it, but I wear it everywhere and lotion & etc really builds up a film!

So I want all the crap off of it at the end of the day! Do you think wearing it in the shower and etc., can cause a build up of hard water deposits? I mean, it happens to my sink, why not the diamond?

LOL!!!!!!!!!!

I know...silly questions. Please enlighten me! Who SCRUBS!??!?!

I have an US but nothing gets the gunk off better for me than SCRUBBING! LOL....

 

[Kelli]

I am also a scrubber and hope someone who knows chimes in!!! I am also the one who was thinking about doing a pavilion repolsh to fix up the angle porportions of my stone. Don''t want to thread jack, but is a regular repolish very different from a pavilion repolish?

 

[Lorelei]

You won't hurt a diamond with scrubbing, but you need to be careful of your setting, so go carefully. Most people never have or need their diamonds to be repolished, sometimes it is done when a stone is upgraded to bring the diamond back to its original condition if it needs it due to minor abrasions.

Read more here. http://diamonds.pricescope.com/polish.asp

 

[ericad]

Antique diamonds occasionally require re-polish when there are girdle chips or facet abrasions (or general facet dulling). Old stones are more susceptible to girdle chips because the girdles are often thin and irregular. Any diamond can chip, so the sheer age of these stones (often 100+ years) means more likelihood of chips/abrasions.

Example: My first OMC was chipped and the facets dulled. We (my appraiser and I) speculated that, because the stone was previously set in a brooch, it was likely tossed in a jewelry box with other diamond jewelery banging around over the years. Nothing causes more damage to a diamond than another diamond!

 

[jewelerman]

SCRUB AWAY ...On the diamond!but a toothbrush will scratch precious metals.If you really need to use a brush then use a light touch around the metal...soak the brush in hot water for several minutes to make it less stiff and this will help.

 

[krisvrn]

Lightly scrub. It''s ok to do daily but be very careful that you don''t loosen the stone from the prongs or setting.

 

[marcy]

I use a baby toothbrush and they seem very soft too.

 

[jewelerman]

A baby toothbrush is a good choice.The brisals are not as stiff and smaller and finer so they get into tight areas without digging.Krisvrn has a big point about rough scrubbing...over time it can loosen small stone as well as center stones.

 

[Bliss]

Just wanted to thank you Lorelei, ericad, jewelerman, krisvrn & marcyc for the help!

OK! I will continue to scrub since I have a temp plat acme setting w/monster prongs. But once I reset, I will be very careful!!!!!