How to care for your jewelry

Take care of your jewelry with our diamond and jewelry care tips.

Whether it's a ring, bracelet, earring or necklace, your jewelry should be able to withstand regular use. Even though your jewelry should be sturdy enough to hold up for everyday wear, try to protect jewelry from scratches, sharp blows, harsh chemicals, extreme temperatures and excessive exposure to sunlight.

These diamond care tips will show you how:

• When doing household tasks such as gardening and cleaning, be certain to remove your rings.
• Check jewelry mounts often so you are sure to notice any problems.
• Prior to engaging in high impact sports, take off your jewelry as you may scratch the metal or chip the stones.
• Take off jewelry before swimming in a swimming pool. The chlorine can cause damage to various gemstones and gold. Gemstones may become loose in their settings and fall out.
• The prongs on jewelry do wear down over time. It is important to do routine checks when you’re cleaning your jewelry to be certain that the stones are not loose. If the prongs wear down too much or break, you may lose the stone; however, prongs are easily re-tipped to keep the stone secure.
• Put your jewelry on only after washing and applying any makeup or hair spray.
• To avoid tarnishing, store silver jewelry in plastic bags with an interlocking seal.

Metal hardness is based on an industry standard called the Mohs scale. The higher the number, the harder the material is. The highest Mohs scale rating is 10, the rating of most diamonds. Anything with a rating below 7 is easily scratched. Gold, silver and platinum have hardness levels of only 2.5 to four and are very easily scratched so it is crucial to maintain the integrity and care for jewelry by adhering to the tips below:

• For jewelry storage, always store different pieces separately so they don't scratch one another.
• Avoid hitting or rubbing your jewelry on any hard surfaces as this may result in scratching.

Bring back the sparkle to your jewelry with our diamond and jewelry cleaning tips.

Over time, dirt and grime can build up on your jewelry and affect the metal’s color and the sparkle and shine of the diamonds. Wondering how often you should clean your jewelry? Read below: