Diamonds are natural magnets for grease, so they’re not easy to keep clean. When a diamond is handled, the oils from your fingers adhere to the diamond’s surface and affect its brilliance and fire.

A simple plan to keep your diamond jewelry looking beautiful is to soak it in a gentle degreasing solution. For example, use water with a few drops of mild dish soap, once or twice a week. After you remove the diamond from the cleaning solution, use a soft, clean toothbrush to remove any remaining dirt. The toothbrush should be new and reserved exclusively for cleaning your jewelry. After that, use it to clean hard-to-reach places like the back of the diamond, which tends to collect the most oil and dirt.

Fragile settings, like older prongs in antique jewelry or a tension setting where the diamond is held in place by pressure from the shank, shouldn’t be vigorously scrubbed, so be gentle with the toothbrush. Then, just rinse your diamond jewelry with water and dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. After that, if you’re working over a sink, make sure to close the drain.

For best results, dip the item in rubbing alcohol it will cut through any residual soap.

Chlorine bleach or abrasives (such as household cleansers or toothpaste) should never be used when cleaning diamond jewelry. Chemicals like chlorine can damage some of the metals used to alloy gold for diamond settings and abrasives can scratch gold and other metals.

We would be happy to meet with you by appointment to explain how and why your jewelry has a certain value in the secondary market. It’s our mission to educate our clients so that they can make an educated decision and know that they’re getting the best possible price for their items. Which is why you may consider taking advantage of our free no obligation evaluation of your jewelry today.