which ultrasonic to buy?

[sk27]

i have been reading all the posts on ultrasonic cleaners and am not sure which to purchase, should i purchase a unit w/ a heater? if so,
what temperature are you supposed to use? the cost of the item is not to much of a concern - adn any
recommmendations on brands would be greatly appreciated?
thanks for the help
steve

 

[diamondfan]

I have been told by many jewelers not to use one, especially with melee orpave as it can loosen stones. I just got a steamer, the jewel jet, on lvnut''s recommendation. It is $99.00 and they have a website, it is jeweljet.com I think. I am hoping it works because my ring looks sooooo amazing when I go to Tiffany''s and have it steamed!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hi! I''m scared of ultrasonics - they can loosen pave'' and side stones and probably loosen prongs over the long term. Soaking my rings in a bottle of jewelry cleaner or even holding them over a steaming cup of tea or coffee has always worked fine for me.

 

[oldminer]

We have used ultrasonics in our lab far more than any steamer. I have one of the little "Jewel Jet" steamers and while it is an impressive device, it is not what I''d call as effective as most ultrasonics in getting jewelry sparking clean. You don''t need a heated ultrasonic. Just use hot water and a little Mr. Clean or Top Job. Don''t overdo it. You can loosen small stones with a steamer or ultrasonic. Even if they did fall out, they are right in the water and can be put back in place. Remember, only dirt was holding them in if they fall out. It isn''t the fault of the cleaner, it is just what happens when you wear delicate jewelry sometimes.

The are some items and gemstones that don''t take kindly to steam, boiling or ultrasonic cleaning. You need to inform yourselves about what not to attempt to do on your own. Most diamond jewelry can take steam, boiling or ultrasonic without a problem.

 

[Lynn B]

I have the small Sharper Image US and it works like a charm. And it was inexpensive, too. I bought it refurbished on eBay.

PS Thanks, Dave, for the info.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/10/2006 10:25:52 AM
Author: Lynn B
I have the small Sharper Image US and it works like a charm. And it was inexpensive, too. I bought it refurbished on eBay.

PS Thanks, Dave, for the info.

I have the same SI unit, and it''s wonderful. I''ve owned it for nearly a year now, and VERY satisfied with it.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 8/10/2006 7:26:05 AM
Author: Madam Bijoux
Hi! I''m scared of ultrasonics - they can loosen pave'' and side stones and probably loosen prongs over the long term. Soaking my rings in a bottle of jewelry cleaner or even holding them over a steaming cup of tea or coffee has always worked fine for me.

But Mrs. B., wouldn''t the "stuff" that was crudding up the ring then fall into the cup?

I have the small US from SI and I love it. Everything mornign zzt zzt zzt! while I''m in the shower!

 

[piccolascimmia]

I''m another small SI US lover (refurb on ebay). If the US loosens up my melee, then I''d rather lose it in the tub than lose it out on the street. And it works FABULOUSLY! My ring comes out ultra sparkly and clean every time.

 

[Shay37]

I just got my SI yesterday. It was amazing. My ring and earrings looked like they did when I opened them from WF.

shay

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hi, Dee*Jay!
I'm quite a fanatic about keeping my jewelry clean, so there's never any crud to fall into a cup. If I get goop on anything, I'll put it in a cup of tap water for a while first.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Gotcha! (I didn''t *think* there would be anything major gooping up your rings, but for some reason I just had this vision pop into my head and of course you know me--think it = post it!)

 

[aljdewey]

Honestly, I'm a total fanatic about cleaning my stones too, and before I had the ultrasonic, I felt as though it was enough. Now, though, I see a difference/improvement when I use my ultrasonic.

I've told this story before, but I went on a visit to WF. Mara wanted to compare my .55 each earrings to the .75 ones to see how much different they'd look. Now keep in mind, I clean them, soak them, and scrub the daylights out of them every single more before putting them on!

When we held my earring up next to the .75 stone, mine looked hazy and cloudy! I was shocked (and bummed!). Brian told me not to panic and had one of the guys run my earrings throught the ultrasonic. The difference was absolutely incredible! I protested to Brian ....."but I just cleaned these 4 hours ago, and I clean them DAILY!". He told me that even so, even rubbing against my hair would make them pick up product residue, oils from your skin, etc. Diamonds are like a magnet for that, he said.

Even my most rigorous and regular cleaning hasn't been able to produce the sparkle that I get with the ultrasonic.

If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. Needless to say, the first thing both Mara and I did upon returning home was to both order ultrasonics! lol

 

[asscherisme]

I had had a sharper image one for about 2 weeks. Love it. I am not going to use it more than once a week though and in between just use a liquid cleaner. And nothing with pave or delecate settings.

 

[Oleander]

I decided to splurge and get the Crest heated ultrasonic (2 quart size) machine. I agree with the others that there is no comparison to windex/toothbrush, soaking, or steaming methods--all of which I always did. My stone always had some haziness in the prong areas that you could see when you tilted the stone-drove me crazy!

Just one go in the ultrasonic and that hazy grime is gone. I could never get a brush under the prongs, and can''t reach the culet of my stone because of the way it''s set. Now it looks like it did the day my husband gave it to me and took my breath away with its sparkle.

I splurged on the Crest model for two reasons:

1. It''s a stainless steel construction and I figured it might last longer
2. My husband could take a high quality machine off my hands if I didn''t like it and use it in his dental practice. A plastic one he could not.

So it was a no-risk purchase for me.

I highly recommend an ultrasonic cleaner, but I don''t have any pave or channel set stones, or anything like that. Just a solitaire and two shared-prong bands.

 

[Ellen]

I was one of those that thought I didn''t need one either. I don''t shower, do dishes, cook, clean or sleep in my new ring. It gets cleaned/soaked daily. How dirty could it get?

But, when I whacked it and moved the prong, the jeweler cleaned it after fixing. Of course I immediately started scrutinizing it to prove myself right. Wrong, there was STILL a difference, noticably.

 

[Tool Guy]

Date: 8/10/2006 3:11:04 PM
Author: Oleander
I decided to splurge and get the Crest heated ultrasonic (2 quart size) machine. I agree with the others that there is no comparison to windex/toothbrush, soaking, or steaming methods--all of which I always did. My stone always had some haziness in the prong areas that you could see when you tilted the stone-drove me crazy!

Just one go in the ultrasonic and that hazy grime is gone. I could never get a brush under the prongs, and can''t reach the culet of my stone because of the way it''s set. Now it looks like it did the day my husband gave it to me and took my breath away with its sparkle.

I splurged on the Crest model for two reasons:

1. It''s a stainless steel construction and I figured it might last longer
2. My husband could take a high quality machine off my hands if I didn''t like it and use it in his dental practice. A plastic one he could not.

So it was a no-risk purchase for me.

I highly recommend an ultrasonic cleaner, but I don''t have any pave or channel set stones, or anything like that. Just a solitaire and two shared-prong bands.

I agree! If you want the best go with an ultrasonic with heat and timer and you''ll have it for the rest of your life.

PS: Crest does make a great unit.

 

[Starry]

Just a quick note...I purchased the SI ultrasonic for my fiancee but haven''t used it yet. I was wondering what the risk is for bead set diamonds in the band?

I know if they fall out there was a pre-existing problem and at least it''s in the machine but I was curious as to how bead set compared to pave, channel set, etc?