How to clean diamond jewelry at home and what you should never do

Diamonds of different shapes and sizes are exclusive jewelry, and you need to know how to care for them. Otherwise, they will lose their incredible shine and seem like simple pieces of glass.

If you have a diamond of several carats in your jewelry chest, then, of course, it is better to take it to a jeweler for cleaning. But what to do if you urgently need to put on gold earrings with diamonds or a ring, and it needs cleaning?

We have already written about how to clean gold more than once. But what about the stones? And anyway, where does dirt come from on diamond jewelry?

Firstly, our skin produces its own sebaceous oil. It, in turn, attracts street dust, which either settles evenly on stones or gets clogged into small cracks in fastenings in jewelry, forming pieces of dirt.

Secondly, when we come home, we don’t always put our jewelry in special bags or boxes. House dust, even if you consider your home sterile, exists. And it envelops the diamond rings with a gray coating.

You can restore the original shine to the stones yourself. This is very easy to do by following our tips.

Seven Tips for Cleaning Diamond Jewelry at Home

Advice one. Soap solution

This is the easiest way to quickly return your diamond jewelry to normal condition at home, namely, remove dirt. You can use any soap for these purposes, but it is best to use baby soap. It contains the least amount of chemicals that can adversely affect your gold and diamond jewelry.

So, before you clean your diamond ring, soak it in soapy water. Warm water and soap will dissolve the dirt so you can easily remove it.

In order to remove soft dirt, you can use ear sticks - this is very convenient, since they are not sharp and you will not be able to scratch a ring or stone even if you want to. Diamond jewelry requires careful and careful handling.

Your diamonds will love a soft, lint-free cloth to buff up their shine. With it you will remove soap scum that may appear on the jewelry after using a cleaning product.

Tip two. Ammonia

This method will give your favorite diamond a unique shine. And it is suitable for those who cannot stand the smell of ammonia. After all, they don’t need to clean diamond earrings or other jewelry with a cotton swab. The products just need to be soaked in the solution.

There are several different liquid recipes for cleaning diamonds and gold jewelry:

• A teaspoon of ammonia in a glass of warm water. We immerse the diamond ring in it for one hour.
• Same thing, just add soap solution. Cleaning diamonds will become much easier, because soap will soften and dissolve dirt, and ammonia will add shine to the jewelry.
• An interesting effect when cleaning a diamond can be achieved using an ammonia solution and shampoo. This will be a gentle cleaning of diamond jewelry at home that will not damage the stone or setting.

Ammonia or ammonia removes surface fat, revealing an extraordinary brilliant shine.

Method three. Toothbrush

This method of cleaning jewelry at home does not exclude soaking in warm water with soap or ammonia. This mechanical cleaning of a diamond should only be done with a very soft toothbrush with artificial bristles. The fact is that the sharp tips of the bristles can scratch the gold and cause invisible damage to the metal, which sooner or later will become visible. You may not notice any scratches, but the surface will become cloudy as soon as dirt accumulates in them.

Method four. Vinegar

The easiest way, especially since today there is hardly a housewife who does not have vinegar in her house. You need very little of it. Dilute it half and half with water, immerse the diamond jewelry in water, and let it stand for half an hour. Then take it out, rinse with water, remove dirt with a cloth or cosmetic swab.

Don't use cotton wool! Then you will spend a long time picking it out from under the fastenings in the jewelry in which the stone is inserted.

After using this method, a subtle vinegar smell may emanate from the metal of the product. But it will disappear very quickly, even if you don't wash it right away.

Method five. For those who are not afraid of onions

The fifth method of cleaning diamond jewelry, like all the previous ones, was tested from our own experience. Onion juice actually cleans diamond jewelry very well, but the smell remains. And yet, the onion should be grated and squeezed out the juice. To be honest, we shed a tear more than once during this procedure. Therefore, if you want to conduct such an experiment with your diamond jewelry, you should do it in a very well-ventilated area.

Method six. Vodka or alcohol

Alcohol solutions add shine to the stone, disinfect it and remove dirt. Just do not use coloring alcohols for these purposes - cognacs, liqueurs, whiskey and other drinks, as well as colored pharmaceutical tinctures. They can stain the stone, and this color can be very difficult to remove from the jewelry.

Method seven. Sweetened water

This is the only method that we have not personally tested, but it is recommended for cleaning diamond jewelry online. You can try it completely calmly, as it will not harm the diamond. On the other hand, sweet water can make the ring sticky, so you should rinse it thoroughly under running water, dry it and then polish it with a soft cloth. It is better to use short-pile velvet for these purposes.

How to clean gold and diamonds

If you already understand how to clean diamonds, then the next step is to figure out what to do if you need to clean not only the precious stone itself, but also the gold? Are there any nuances?

We hasten to please you, gold is one of the most resistant materials to chemical influences and therefore none of the above methods can harm it.

The only thing that can happen is that the gold will lose its shine (for example, if you use a soda solution).

So, what can you use to clean both gold and diamond at the same time:

• use a special cleaning component, which can be purchased at any jewelry store;
• ammonia solution or alcohol (can be replaced with regular vodka);
• dentifrice;
• hair shampoo, liquid soap, ordinary budget products used for washing dishes;
• carbonated drink "Coca-Cola";
• onion juice;
• lipstick (to remove stubborn dirt and stains).

Do not use for cleaning: iodine, potassium permanganate, chlorine-containing components, soda.

How not to clean diamonds

Very often people make mistakes that can completely ruin a piece of jewelry.

So, what should you not use to clean diamond jewelry?

• Abrasive cleaners will cause damage to gemstones.
• Vinegar has a negative effect on minerals.
• Hydrogen peroxide - kills the shine of the crystal.
• Iodine - similar to peroxide and vinegar.

White gold diamond jewelry

White gold, especially with a matte surface, requires more careful handling. Although this is strange, because it contains platinum, which is harder than gold or silver. But it scratches much faster, and these damages are more noticeable than on yellow gold.

The cleaning principle is the same for all jewelry. The main thing is that in this case you do not use mechanical means that can scratch the metal. Rings should be soaked in solutions that do not contain aggressive agents.

In this case, it is easier to prevent damage than to get rid of it later. If you do laundry, wash dishes, prepare culinary masterpieces - take off your rings! Well, you don’t need them either in the kitchen or when cleaning the apartment. There will be goals.

White and matte gold can be cleaned with ammonia, you can clean it with chalk, which you have ground into powder, or with shampoo or liquid soap.

In any case, do not forget that your rings, earrings or bracelets should then be washed with water and polished with a cloth. For information on how to polish gold, see here.

White Gold Cleaning

Cleaning white gold and diamond jewelry at home requires great care. This type of precious metal is more susceptible to chemical oxidation than others. To protect the jewelry from corrosion, it is coated with a thin layer of rhodium. Over time, it can wear off, so such jewelry should not be machined.

You can clean a white gold ring with diamonds by dipping it in sugar syrup . Dissolve 3-4 teaspoons of sugar in 300 ml of warm water. The jewelry is immersed in liquid for 12 hours, after which it is washed under running water and wiped with a soft cloth. The diamond is polished with a velvet rag.

To clean your jewelry faster, you can mix 200 ml of water with a spoon of ammonia and the same amount of shampoo. The ring is placed in the mixture for 30 minutes. You should not keep the jewelry in liquid for too long, as the metal may react with the components of the detergent.

Pay attention to the setting of the stone

The setting of a diamond in earrings, a ring or other jewelry can become loose over time. You can find out how firmly the diamond sits in the jewelry during cleaning. Carefully inspect the fastenings in the jewelry, as well as the clasps, so that they do not open at the most inopportune time.

There can be only one diamond. Then it’s clear how to clean a gold ring with it. What to do if your jewelry is studded with diamond chips? It will be a little more difficult to clean gold jewelry. The fact is that the crumbs are embedded (soldered) into gold, and the fastenings may not be the most powerful.

First and most important

– always buy rings with diamonds or diamond chips only in trusted stores, where they will give you a one hundred percent guarantee that the diamond chips will not fall out of the ring.

Second

– do not use a toothbrush for cleaning. Mechanical cleaning should be carried out only with a soft cloth and after soaking.

Third

– do not use chalk to polish stones.

Fourth

– be sure to check each time for the presence of stones in the jewelry.

BASIC CLEANING METHODS

We choose an option suitable for home conditions on how to clean diamond jewelry. Almost any housewife will have the necessary materials and tools at hand.

Folk remedies

For those who do not want to order special diamond cleaners, simple and effective folk remedies are suitable:

Glass cleaning liquid

Soft fabric

• Minor stains on jewelry can be easily cleaned with natural soft fabrics - felt or flannel.
• The simplest method for cleaning gold and diamond jewelry is to rub it until it shines.
• If you carry out this procedure regularly, other cleaning methods will not be needed.

Soap solution

Regular bar soap is not used for cleaning diamonds. Laundry soap makes the gold frame dull. Children's washing powder will not work either.

But any liquid soap is suitable for “bathing” diamonds: it is much softer than bar soap and dissolves more easily in water.

The cleaning procedure is carried out as follows:

1. A few drops of liquid soap are added to a vessel with warm water.
2. The stone is carefully wiped with a soft cloth.

Nail polish remover

On a note. Yellow stains from precious stones (for example, from iodine) are perfectly removed by soap solution.

Ammonia

One of the most reliable cleaning agents for gemstone jewelry is ammonia.

Attention! Before you start working with ammonia, you should wear medical gloves. This caustic substance can harm the skin of your hands.

The solution is prepared as follows:

1. Ammonia is mixed with warm water in proportions 1:6.
2. The decoration is placed in the solution for half an hour.
3. Products with diamonds are placed in a vessel with water.
4. After five minutes, the stones are taken out and treated with a special brush.
5. Finally, rinse under running water.

Hydrogen peroxide and ammonia

Hydrogen peroxide + ammonia is an effective mixture for removing stains from jewelry:

• removes stains from diamonds;
• returns radiance and shine to jewelry;
• does not leave streaks on stones and metals.

Hydrogen peroxide

A solution of peroxide and ammonia is prepared as follows:

1. Pour one tablespoon of peroxide and three teaspoons of ammonia into a glass of warm water.
2. It is permissible to add a little liquid soap to the container.
3. Fill an enamel or glass container with the solution.
4. Immerse the decoration in the liquid for 20 minutes.
5. Wash with running water and dry.

Advice. Pure hydrogen peroxide cannot be used to remove stains on stone!

Onion juice

Ladies who want to look stunning even in the kitchen can take care of their jewelry while preparing lunch or dinner:

1. It is enough to cut one onion in half and rub the decorations with it.
2. Next, the product is left for a couple of hours, washed with water and dried.

On a note. Vinegar and lemon juice are suitable substitutes for onion juice.

Onion juice

Toothpaste/powder

Housewives often use these two components to cleanse surrounding objects. They are also suitable for removing stains from precious stones and metals. Here's how it's done:

1. Cleaning must be done with a soft bristle brush.
2. After cleaning, the stone is rinsed with running water.

The procedure is carried out until the diamond shines with a renewed, noble shine.

Important! Toothpaste should not contain hard abrasive particles that will scratch the stone. Otherwise, you will have to turn to a jeweler for help.

Toothpaste

Cola

This choice of cleaning product may seem strange. However, Coca-Cola is good at removing stains from gold and diamonds.

1. Decorations are placed in a warm carbonated drink.
2. After 2-3 hours, the product is taken out and washed under warm running water.

After such a “bath day,” the diamond will again become bright and noticeable.

Cola

Sweet water

If you don’t have Coca-Cola on hand, any sweet water will do for cleaning diamonds. Even cooked with your own hands:

1. You need to dilute one tablespoon of sugar in a glass of warm water.
2. The jewelry is completely immersed in the sweet liquid for three hours.
3. Wash with running water to avoid stickiness.

Sweet water is good at removing grease and dust from crystals.

Sweet water

Lipstick

It turns out that lipstick can not only complete your makeup. This cosmetic product contains titanium dioxide, which effectively removes plaque and impurities on the surface of diamonds.

Here's how to use lipstick as an all-purpose cleaner:

1. A little lipstick is spread onto a cotton pad.
2. Carefully wipe the surface of the stone. Pass over the product with a flannel cloth.

Lipstick

Beer and egg white

A very unusual method of cleaning a diamond.

The solution is prepared as follows:

1. Stir the white of one egg in a glass of beer.
2. The resulting liquid is moistened with a soft cloth.
3. Gently wipe the jewelry.
4. Then the diamond product must be washed and dried.

Egg white

Salt

Salt is a universal gemstone cleaner. White crystals clean jewelry from both household pollution and accumulated negative energy at the same time.

Sea salt is more suitable, but if it is not available, table salt is acceptable.

Dry and wet salt cleaning methods are equally effective (see below).

Wet method

Containers made of plastic or metal are not suitable: these materials can transfer their properties to water. Cleaning steps:

1. One teaspoon of salt is dissolved in a ceramic or glass container filled with water. To make the white crystals dissolve faster, it is better to pour warm water over them.
2. Decorations are placed exceptional in chilled water! In hot or warm liquid, the stone can darken.
3. The product is kept in the solution overnight.
4. The next morning, rinse with running water.

Salt

Dry method

Pour enough salt into a deep bowl so that the crystals completely hide the stone being cleaned. The container material can be anything. Dry cleaning jewelry with salt also takes overnight.

Important! High-quality polished gemstones often darken and fade when exposed to salt. However, there is no need to rush to abandon the salt type of cleaning, because there is an alternative approach to this problem. The diamond jewelry can be placed in a glass container, and it, in turn, can be placed on a plate with salt (a layer of at least 1 cm). The gemstone will not come into direct contact with the white particles, but they will still have a cleansing effect on it.

Alcohol

Alcohol diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio is an excellent way to clean diamonds from darkening:

1. The decoration is placed in a container filled with alcohol.
2. The residence time of jewelry in the solution should not exceed half an hour.
3. The diamond product is washed with water and wiped with a flannel cloth.

Alcohol

Hyposulfite and borax solution

The method removes persistent stains from the surface of gems.

Borax or hyposulfite are sold in jewelry or hardware stores (the ingredients are included in cockroach baiting products).

1. Moisten a cotton swab with the prepared borax solution and wipe the jewelry.
2. Wash the stones with warm water and dry.

Hyposulfite even removes iodine stains on jewelry.

A solution with hyposulfite is prepared as follows:

1. Pour a teaspoon of hyposulfite into a glass of water.
2. The decoration is placed in the solution for half an hour.
3. The product is treated with a soft bristle brush and dipped in a soap solution.
4. The final stage is rinsing with running water.

Hyposulfite

Soda

Baking soda cleans diamonds and makes them shine.

The powder should not be used on diamond or gold jewelry. Baking soda makes gold dull, destroying the golden shine. Soda is suitable for silver or platinum.

1. To prepare the cleaning liquid, you will need one teaspoon of baking soda and a glass of water.
2. The solution is poured into a prepared container and the diamond item is placed in it overnight.
3. In the morning, wipe the jewelry with a brush and rinse with warm water.

Soda

Professional products

They are used in jewelry stores to clean jewelry and help restore diamond jewelry to its proper appearance. The composition of professional products helps eliminate dirt and not damage stones.

Effective diamond cleaning products:

• "Aladdin." The composition is available in a set with a container and a brush. You need to pour the solution into a container, then lower the diamond jewelry into it. After some time (according to the instructions), the product is taken out and the stone is polished with velvet or cleaned with a brush.
• 2 TOP BIO CLEANER Nano Brilliant. Another professional cleaning kit: helps remove tarnish and stains while adding shine to the stones.

By purchasing professional products, you can save time and spend a minimum of effort on cleaning diamonds. Most often, for high-quality cleaning you just need to immerse the product in the solution for 8 hours.

It is important to follow the instructions, otherwise there is a risk of overdoing the concentration of the product.

The compositions are not suitable for all jewelry: you need to make sure that the liquid is compatible with all stones (emeralds and sapphires are especially “capricious”).

Aladdin

What you should never do

Many bloggers on the Internet suggest cleaning diamonds using lipstick. We do not recommend this method unless you want to lose your gold diamond ring. Lipsticks are made with fat, so the ring becomes slippery and can easily fall off your finger at the most inopportune moment!

Always wear jewelry when it is dry, do not wash your hands in it, or remove diamond earrings when you are about to shower.

Jewelry has no place during training in the gym or on the street. Under no circumstances should you wear them when going to the pool. Firstly, they will disturb you, and secondly, chlorine dissolved in water will create an additional coating on your jewelry.

We do not recommend using aggressive agents, such as well-known carbonated drinks, to clean diamond jewelry. Yes, they can very quickly remove plaque from any product. But your diamonds are not a kettle with scale; they require a careful and patient attitude.

Are you planning to clean your diamond jewelry? Then be patient, because now you are not just caring for expensive jewelry, but also for “best friends” who present you to others in the best light.

Diamond cleaning products

vodka, alcohol diluted with water or a weak solution of ammonia will be excellent helpers for those who do not know how to clean diamond jewelry To clean a diamond ring this way, you simply need to dip it in one of the above solutions for a few seconds and then wipe it with a cotton swab.

At the end of the procedure, do not forget to rub the stone until shiny using a piece of velvet cloth.

Jewelry with diamond

How often should you clean diamond jewelry?

It just depends on how often you wear them. If diamond rings are your constant companions and you only take them off at home, then clean them at least once a month.

If you don’t wear earrings or rings with diamonds to work, but wear them, for example, only on weekends, then they will need cleaning no more than once every three months. But still, look at the circumstances. If your ring needs cleaning, there's no point in waiting a couple more weeks before it's due.

Once or twice a year we clean our diamonds at a jeweler. They use specialized equipment to clean diamond jewelry.

Reasons for darkening of gold and diamonds

The first thing that comes to mind about gold is that it is among the noble metals, next to silver and platinum. This means that it doesn’t care about oxidation and corrosion. This is true, but gold is also a representative of soft metals, which in their pure form are easily deformed. Therefore, jewelry raw materials are nothing more than its alloy with copper or other more durable elements.

And the lower the sample, the higher its strength and the lower its immunity to external negative conditions - skin secretions, with which jewelry is in direct contact, and cosmetics. Plus, street and house dust, atmospheric emissions, high temperature.

Diamonds suffer for the same reasons. From cosmetics and sweat, a thin cloudy film forms on their surface, and the stone itself becomes dull. Chlorinated water and chemical compositions of various cleaning agents also do their destructive work. Gold is not afraid of bleach, but the diamond insert loses its charm, the rays of light no longer play on its edges.

Therefore, house cleaning, gardening and dacha work, beach activities, baths and fitness are reasons to take off your diamond ring and your other treasures, at least for a while. And do not carelessly throw it on the dressing table or in a common box, but store it in a separate case. This is an important point in the rules for caring for diamonds. Proper storage will prevent microcracks on products, which do not add beauty to them.

Separately, it should be noted the amateur tests for the authenticity of metal or stone, which many suspicious people love to carry out. It is better to have a professional check the fire resistance of diamonds and their impact resistance. Home experiments are more likely to damage the product than to dispel doubts.

And they will also punish you with rubles: the lost natural transparency of the stone will have to be restored in a workshop or polished in a factory. Such additional manipulations make the diamond smaller and its grade may decrease. But cleaning diamonds yourself at home is not prohibited. And you should start by following the general rules.

How to store jewelry at home

Best in a safe. But that's not what we're talking about. Gold and diamonds are best stored in special bags. Then they will not rub against each other, which means you will avoid some scratches.

Today you can find many special ring stands on sale, as well as recommendations on how to make them yourself. Attention! You cannot store rings, earrings or other jewelry made of gold, and especially with diamonds, in this form.

All of these stands are designed for jewelry. And in general, such stands in the bedroom, for example, in the form of an outstretched finger, are an indicator of taste. Or lack thereof.

Get a box with a soft bottom, make sections in it so that the diamonds do not touch each other. In this case, you will avoid another problem - you will not have to polish their gold frame more often than necessary.

Love your jewelry, treat it carefully and then it will love you back. They will give you that same luxurious and absolutely unique glow. That's what they buy it for.

How to properly store products

Experts give some tips on how to care for diamonds and preserve their beauty for a long time:

Diamond jewelry should be stored in closed, dry boxes, as high humidity negatively affects the condition of the stone itself. If you keep jewelry in the bathroom, it's best to move it to a safer place to avoid accidentally dropping it on a hard surface.

Diamonds are best kept away from sunlight and not worn in hot weather.

Excessively dry and hot air, combined with the brightness of the sun, can cause clouding of the mineral, so the stone needs darkness. It is important to treat jewelry with respect and not wear it while playing sports or cleaning the house. It is best to wear stones only at special moments, then you will have to clean them much less often.