How to Avoid Losing Diamonds
- If you suddenly drop or strike your ring on a hard surface, immediately check for damage to prongs and the diamond. This is the most common cause for a stone to be lost.
- Even though diamonds are very hard they can chip. So, inspect your stone fairly often to make certain that it is not damaged near a prong that could allow it to fall out of the setting.
- Over the years, even the finest and safest settings slowly wear out. Be sure to replace prongs and bezels that look thin or that are lifting up.
- Diamonds are harder than gold and platinum. So, if they become loose in the setting, the diamonds will wear out the prongs faster. From time to time, hold your ring up to your ear, tap the ring with your finger and listen for the loose diamond producing a subtle rattling sound as it bounces against the prongs. Usually, a simple tightening of the prongs is all that is necessary.
- If your finger size changes enough that it is uncomfortable or annoying, consult with your jeweler to resize it. Obviously, if the ring fits rather loosely, you stand a greater chance of it falling off in water or during cold weather.
- When you shop for jewelry, try to buy pieces which have white gold or platinum prongs, because alloys make it stronger than yellow gold.
Helpful Habits
- At night right before bedtime, put your favorite diamond ring in a bowl, jewelry box or ring-holder in the same spot every night all of the time.
- Since washing your hands or showering with your ring on produces an annoying hazy soap residue, always keep a small bowl at each sink in your home to secure your ring.
- If you are washing your hands or bathing when you are away from home, either do not remove your rings when you wash or carry a medium-size zip-lock bag along to put your jewelry into before washing.
When to Remove Your Jewelry
- Before swimming and strenuous activities, because salt water and chlorine can damage your jewelry, not to mention loss.
- Before applying sunscreen, bug spray or hair spray, because they can get into crevices of chains and prongs. Delicate stones and pearls really suffer from chemical sprays and lotions.
- Before going to the beach, because cold water temperatures cause your fingers to shrink, creating room for your ring to slip off. Without a metal detector, you will not have much luck finding rings in the sand or worse yet under water in the ocean.
- Before playing in sand or gardening, because sand, dirt and small rocks are abrasive, thus damaging. Also, pulling off garden gloves and winter snow gloves have tossed many a ring away never to be found.
How to Clean Diamond and Colored Stone Jewelry
- First, be sure to inspect the jewelry for loose stones or damaged ring parts.
- Fill a bowl with warm water and some mild dish washing liquid and place the jewelry in it to soak awhile, especially if they are clogged with grime. Cleaning jewelry in or near a sink obviously presents the danger of losing jewelry or a loose stone down the drain.
- Using a soft bristle toothbrush, gently scrub the jewelry from all angles, but primarily behind the stone where it needs cleaning the most.
- Thoroughly rinse the soapy water off of the piece with cold or warm water.
- Dry it off with a soft cloth and/or use a hair dryer on the cold or very low heat level. This prevents water spots from appearing on the stones.
How to Clean Softer Stone Jewelry
- Delicate stones like opal, turquoise, or pearls should never be washed, because water will damage them. Just wipe them with a chamois or a clean soft dry cloth.
- Other stones like lapis lazuli, coral, malachite, amber can be cleaned with a damp cloth.
How to Care for Jewelry
- Clean your jewelry regularly. Your own sweat and body oils can dull the shine of your jewelry.
- Store your jewelry in a clean, dry place. Keep your pieces in a fabric-lined jewelry case or in a box with compartments and dividers to prevent pieces from scratching each other. Invest in a safe for your more valuable jewelry.
- Visit your jeweler annually, inspect, deep clean and polish the jewelry that you wear a lot.
- Get your favorite jewelry insured; and join the National Jewelry Registry™ so that you can be registered and relaxed.
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