How Do Jewelers Clean Engagement Rings

Your fine jewelry is one of your most prized possessions. But over time, jewelry can wear down and lose its sparkle and luster. We recommend having your jewelry professionally inspected and cleaned to protect your investment and keep it looking brand new.

What Do Professional Jewelry Cleaners Do?

Professional cleaners have access to cleaning machines and tools that everyday people don’t. In addition to cleaning, jewelers inspect your jewelry prior to cleaning. This is an important step for peace of mind to know that your diamonds are safe. So you can learn more about the process, let’s review how professional cleaning works.

Ultrasonic Cleaning

Ultrasonic jewelry cleaning is used for diamond and gemstone cleaning. It uses high-frequency sound waves and cleaning solutions that create bubbles that latch on to the dirt on the diamond. The sound waves release the dirt from the diamond.

In terms of gemstones, there are some instances where you’ll want to avoid ultrasonic cleaners:

• If the gem has been treated by heat. This method is used to enhance some gemstone’s color. Some example gemstones to watch for include ruby and sapphire. In particular, star ruby and star sapphire should not be cleaned in an ultrasonic machine.
• Don’t use an ultrasonic to clean gemstones that have surface reaching breaks that were filled. For example, some gemstones, like emeralds, have their fractures filled with oil, resin, or wax. The fillings improve the stone’s clarity. However, they’re not permanent and can be damaged or removed with ultrasonic cleaning.
• There are some gems that are susceptible to heat and temperature changes and should not be cleaned in an ultrasonic regardless of whether they’re treated or untreated. Some of these gems include tanzanite, feldspar (sunstone and moonstone), fluorite, iolite, kunzite, lapis lazuli, malachite, opal, topaz, turquoise, zircon, and others.

Metal Cleaning (Polishing)

You can safely clean white, yellow, and rose gold using ultrasonic devices. Additionally, sterling silver and platinum jewelry are safe as well. Rhodium plated white gold may be put in an ultrasonic cleaner with a mild soap solution for cleaning, or cleaned in any mild household soap solution. Avoid silver cleaning products on white gold. An exception is tungsten because it’s prone to damage when subjected to ultrasound waves.

After ultrasonic cleaning, jewelry is polished. The jeweler polishes the jewelry using a wheel spinning at high speed. This allows the jeweler to remove the scratches and abrasions from the metal.

Steam Cleaning

The final step of professional jewelry cleaning is steam cleaning, and this really makes your diamond glitter. The jeweler uses tongs to place the jewelry under a strong blast of steam to get rid of any remaining grime and brighten the metal. This reveals the brilliance your diamond had when you first saw it.

Professional Cleaning vs. Cleaning at Home

As you’ve learned in this post, professional jewelers have access to cleaning tools that everyday people do not. While we can remove some grime and purchase at-home jewelry cleaners, nothing compares to a professional jeweler inspecting and cleaning your special jewelry. If you’d like to clean your jewelry at home, place your jewelry on a cloth and use mild soap, water, and a soft bristled brush to remove dirt and grime. Keep in mind that the more often you clean your diamonds and jewelry, the less the accumulation of dirt and grime. While not the same as a professional cleaning, you can purchase at-home ultrasonic cleaners and steam cleaners.

While you can clean jewelry at home, it’s best to have your fine jewelry professionally inspected and cleaned. They’ll check your stones and prongs and can get your jewelry looking brand new again. Nothing compares to the sparkle you’ll see after having your jewelry professionally inspected, cleaned, and steamed!