How to Clean a Diamond
Diamonds are precious commodities that rarely comes at low prices. It’s not uncommon for diamond jewelry to be given on special occasions and handed down from generation to generation. Diamond’s unique qualities are what makes it so precious; however, these same qualities are what makes it so attractive to dirt and grime. Keep set and loose diamonds in top shape by cleaning them properly. Here are a couple of ways how.
Water with Ammonia or Glass Cleaner
Fill 2/3 of a small Tupperware dish or cereal bowl with water. Put this in a microwave oven and put it on high heat for around a minute. Carefully take out the bowl and add two parts ammonia or household glass cleaner.
Place the diamond jewelry in the water, fully submerged for around a minute and thirty seconds, or when the water has cooled to the touch. Take out the jewelry, then use a soft-bristle toothbrush to gently clean around the hard-to-reach areas.
Fill another bowl with clean water in room temperature. Swish around the jewelry for a minute before taking out. Place the diamond jewelry on a piece of lint-free cloth and let it air-dry.
Don’t touch the diamond directly and try to hold the metallic part of the jewelry while cleaning. The natural oil of your skin has a tendency to stick to the diamond, making it susceptible to dirt.
Two-Soak Method
Fill a completely-plugged sink with hot water. Use rubber gloves. You can also fill a deep bowl with hot water instead, if you don’t want to risk your jewelry to fall into the drain.
Add a small amount of mild detergent. Make sure it gets distributed evenly in the water. Soak the diamonds or are precious commodities that rarely comes at low prices. It’s not uncommon for diamond jewelry completely in the water. Keep it submerged for about ten minutes.
Take out the jewelry and put it in a dish filled with window cleaner, such as Windex. The jewelry must be completely submerged. Let it sit there for another ten minutes.
Use a soft-bristle or a baby toothbrush to gently brush away any remaining dirt and grime. You should be careful not to scratch the metallic setting, and focus on the bottom and back parts of the diamond where dirt is likely to build up.
Put the jewelry back into the detergent and water mixture and swish it around to remove loose dirt. Finally, rinse the jewelry under running room-temperature water. Again, make sure your sink’s drain is properly plugged up.
Gently wipe dry with a lint-free cloth or leave it to air-dry.
Tips to Keep In Mind
Be very gentle if you’re using a toothbrush, as not to loosen the diamond from its setting. You can also use a toothpick or a dental Water Pik to very gently clean out hard-to-remove grime.
If your diamond has a crack or imperfection, putting it in extreme temperatures such as hot water may cause the diamond to shatter. To avoid this, submerge your diamond first in tolerably warm water before submerging it into very hot water.
Be sure to plug up your drain or put a strainer in it when cleaning your jewelry. You don’t want your precious stones going down the drain, literally.
If your jewelry has additional precious stones other than diamonds, consider their limitations (such as tolerable water temperatures, sensitivity to scratches) when cleaning them alongside your diamonds.
Do not put diamonds in a microwave. When heated at a very high temperature, diamonds may burn.
If you are not confident with cleaning your jewelry yourself, you can seek the help of a professional jewelry cleaner. You can also go where your jewelry was purchased as jewelers will often clean it for you at no price.