Will hand sanitizer damage sapphires?

[asscherisme]

I have not worn my sapphire and diamond (set in platinum) right hand ring in a year. Not since I started to sanitize my hands the second I got back to my car after going anywhere in public for fear of damaging my ring.

But I am realizing now that with our new world, it may be a good idea to get in the habit of using hand sanitizer even after the pandemic is over when I run errands and then get back into my car.

I want to wear my ring again and I am not comfortable taking it off my finger in my car to use the hand sanitizer out of fear I will lose it, it will fall in a crack etc.

Will hand sanitizer damage a natural earth grown sapphire and diamond ring set in platinum?

Are others wearing their rings less?

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I want to wear my ring again and I am not comfortable taking it off my finger in my car to use the hand sanitizer out of fear I will lose it, it will fall in a crack etc.

Following ... Sorry I don't have any expert advice for you, except:

You're right, don't take it off in your car.
Big drama at my cousin's wedding. Her cousin (other side) took off her ER to use lotion. It fell and was never found.

The car was worth much less than her high colour/clarity honker. They took it apart much later, but it was never found.
I clearly remember the frantic searching and drama ... shudder

 

[asscherisme]

Following ... Sorry I don't have any expert advice for you, except:

You're right, don't take it off in your car.
Big drama at my cousin's wedding. Her cousin (other side) took off her ER to use lotion. It fell and was never found.

The car was worth much less than her high colour/clarity honker. They took it apart much later, but it was never found.
I clearly remember the frantic searching and drama ... shudder

Oh no, exactly what I would be afraid of.
Funny story, I have not lost anything valuable, but I can't tell you how many M &M's are probably hidden in the crevices of my car. My daughter is obsessed with M&M's and has eaten them dozens of times in my car and on many occasions drops one, looks for it, and never finds it. So if my car hids M&M's, I fear it will hide my ring!

Years ago, my jeweler also told me to never remove your ring at the kitchen sink to do dishes. He said if you need to remove to do dishes, do it somewhere other than the kitchen. Better yet, he recommended keeping the ring on and just using gloves. He said the safest place for your ring is your finger, and he had heard many horror stories of rings lost when doing dishes.

On the other hand, my grandmother lose a wedding ring down the shower drain on vacation. She was devastated.

I have seen women remove their rings in work bathrooms to lotion and it makes me cringe they will lose it!

 

[peacechick]

The reason why diamonds, sapphires, gold and platinum are highly sought after in jewelry because those are materials that are hardy, inert, and which can take on a lot of wear and tear. I don’t think there is ever a need to take off a sapphire or diamond ring for handwashing and sanitizer. If the ring gets dirty, put it in an ultrasonic cleaner and scrub it after.

Having said all that, I have apatite, sphene, opals, kyanite and other soft stones that I absolutely will baby, take off when washing dishes etc. I have a ring box by every sink for that. I am really good at putting them properly in the box but I often forget about them after so I don’t recommend this when outside!

 

[asscherisme]

Thanks for your reply peacechick.

I woud like to add tsavorite to original question. Would a tsavorite set in platinum be safe with hand sanitizer?

 

[kenny]

I assume the ingredients in hand sanitizers vary.
So if you're concerned you should research every ingredient in every brand you are considering buying.

But, unlike food labeling laws, I don't know if labels on non-food items must also list every ingredient.

Research time.

 

[Karl_K]

There are different answers here...
some sapphires are treated with oil and it will remove the oil. These are generally low end and I would not expect them in a platinum ring.
Otherwise it will not harm them. Opals and Emerald and pearls and organic gemstones can be destroyed by it.
Plat is fine with it.
Diamond is fine with it.
Gold is fine with it.

BUT
Some of the hand sanitizers have lotion in them that can coat anything with a hard to remove film.
Use it and is right after your fingers feel slimy/oily against each other then its likely to coat your rings in hard to remove film that makes it look dull.

 

[Karl_K]

Thanks for your reply peacechick.

I woud like to add tsavorite to original question. Would a tsavorite set in platinum be safe with hand sanitizer?

Ganets are fairly nonabsorbent so they should be fine as long as they are not surface treated with oil with the same warning as above.

 

[asscherisme]

Good point Kenny. Thanks Karl, I think I will hold off on wearing my rings for now. Don't want to gunk them up. And definitely not going to give up hand sanitizer anytime soon with the pandemic.

 

[LilAlex]

Occupationally, spouse has hand-sanitized her sapphire thousands of times over the past decade of daily wear. Anyone in health care has 10X your current daily exposure, I guarantee. And every brand/formulation you can imagine -- the Purell kind, the awful lotion-y kind, you name it. It has accumulated abrasions at the facet meet-points like everything less than diamond in hardness, but it is still gorgeous.

I would worry about an oiled emerald (and I have no data or actual knowledge to support that), but we would not daily-wear an emerald even before the pandemic.

 

[Bron357]

Never take your rings off in a bathroom, laundry or kitchen. More rings are lost or forgotten that way than ever get damaged by a few soap suds or hand lotion (though be aware soap and lotions might make your rings slip off).
Some gems shouldn’t be exposed to chemicals ie Opals, pearls, emeralds so avoid sanitiser with them.