Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Hand sanitizer and rings?

Gemly

Gemly

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 29, 2020
Messages
293
Just curious if anyone has heard if hand sanitizer can damage gold/platinum/diamond (I’m sure it’s an absolute no-no for some of the more porous stones) rings at all? Since most of us are drowning in it I thought it would be worth discussing. Thanks!!
 
i understand ethanol based hand sanitizer does not do any harm to 18k, platinum or diamonds.
 
I always take mine off to apply it or wash my hands.
 
I can't stop wearing my rings. I won't. I feel naked without them. I suppose if i wore an elaborate and ornate ring with lots of lots of pave, there'd be lots of crevice to harbor bacteria and virus. but if the jewelry gets cleaned daily then should be okay to continue to wear and enjoy. wearing rings/jewelry cheers me up alot.
 
Last edited:
Big Fat Facets said:
I can't stop wearing my rings. I won't. I feel naked without them. I suppose if i wore an elaborate and ornate ring with lots of lots of pave, there'd be lots of crevice to harbor bacteria and virus. but if the jewelry gets cleaned daily then should be okay to continue to wear and enjoy. wearing rings/jewelry cheers me up alot.
Click to expand...

Well, I work in a hospital so I’m not giving that nasty, covid-y menace a chance to lurk anywhere on my body. Plus I’ve stopped wearing earrings due to the PPE- very easy to rip one out taking the whole outfit off!
 
Snowdrop13 said:
Well, I work in a hospital so I’m not giving that nasty, covid-y menace a chance to lurk anywhere on my body. Plus I’ve stopped wearing earrings due to the PPE- very easy to rip one out taking the whole outfit off!
Click to expand...

Definitely not worth the risk in a hospital environment!!
 
Sounds the like consensus is that hand sanitizer won’t damage our metals or hard stones. That’s good news! Bad news is rings definitely give more surface area to catch germs...ewww. Hadn’t even considered that. Now I’ll be spending special attention making sure to sanitize around the rings as well!
 
Snowdrop13 said:
Well, I work in a hospital so I’m not giving that nasty, covid-y menace a chance to lurk anywhere on my body. Plus I’ve stopped wearing earrings due to the PPE- very easy to rip one out taking the whole outfit off!
Click to expand...

ahh, i see. well first of all blessings to you for doing what you do.
working in a hospital, considered an essential worker is a whole different thing than for those of us that stay home. then by all means as you said no jewelry at all.
 
I've pretty much just been wearing two thin bands stacked together. I dont like the feeling/look of my rings/solitaires/pave getting
all gunked up with stuff. When I have to go into a store I'm using sanitizer (like after I open a door) as well as when I get back into
my car.

I've been thinking of just getting a wide (maybe 6mm) gold band to wear until this mess is all over!
 
tyty333 said:
I've pretty much just been wearing two thin bands stacked together. I dont like the feeling/look of my rings/solitaires/pave getting
all gunked up with stuff. When I have to go into a store I'm using sanitizer (like after I open a door) as well as when I get back into
my car.

I've been thinking of just getting a wide (maybe 6mm) gold band to wear until this mess is all over!
Click to expand...

I have done the same. Most days I wear a wide gold band. When I do wear my solitaire, I pair it with a thin gold band and try to not get sanitizer on the stone as best I can. No pave- it looks so gross gunked up.
 
emeralds and opal would be a no-no but diamond,ruby,sapphire,topaz and others are good.
But some of them have a moisturizer in them which will build up on your diamond/ring and can make it look look cloudy.
It could take steam to remove it.
 
Karl_K said:
emeralds and opal would be a no-no but diamond,ruby,sapphire,topaz and others are good.
But some of them have a moisturizer in them which will build up on your diamond/ring and can make it look look cloudy.
It could take steam to remove it.
Click to expand...

I cant stand gunk around my rings. I have a ultrasonic and steamer ready to go at a moments notice!
 
Gussie said:
I have done the same. Most days I wear a wide gold band. When I do wear my solitaire, I pair it with a thin gold band and try to not get sanitizer on the stone as best I can. No pave- it looks so gross gunked up.
Click to expand...

I agree. Completely takes away the sparkle.
 
I was going to start a thread on just this topic, but found this one, so thought I would ask my question here!

I have a new 14K white gold thin wedding band. I would like to wear it to work (where we can only wear plain bands), but as I work in a hospital, I am indeed drowning in hand sanitizer. Now, I actually wanted unplated white gold but Blue Nile don't offer this. So I've received it rhodium plated but won't be replating once it wears off.

I have read that alcohol hand sanitizer can accelerate rhodium wearing off, but assuming this is A-OK with me, will it damage the actual gold?

Sorry for my very specific question ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MillieLou said:
I was going to start a thread on just this topic, but found this one, so thought I would ask my question here!

I have a new 14K white gold thin wedding band. I would like to wear it to work (where we can only wear plain bands), but as I work in a hospital, I am indeed drowning in hand sanitizer. Now, I actually wanted unplated white gold but Blue Nile don't offer this. So I've received it rhodium plated but won't be replating once it wears off.

I have read that alcohol hand sanitizer can accelerate rhodium wearing off, but assuming this is A-OK with me, will it damage the actual gold?

Sorry for my very specific question ;-)
Click to expand...
I don’t think it will damage the gold, but your rhodium will definitely wear off faster. Thanks for what you do being a front line worker!!
 
When I went to a known jewelry chain recently, they actually cleaned their rings with hand sanitizer every time someone would try it on. I also looked at some loose diamonds where they glopped sanitizer directly on the diamond and wiped it down. I was surprised and they stated that it was great for getting the diamond clean. Anyways- I don't think a large retailer would be doing this if it harmed the ring?:think:
 
Thanks both! That's really helpful :)

I'm just going to do it and report back. The ring was inexpensive enough and was intended to be a temp anyway, to go with my temp WG setting until I decide on a forever setting in a couple of years in platinum.

Well, that was the plan - I've surprised myself at how much I just adore the lightness of this little WG ring! I have worn a platinum wedding band for a decade and this is such a refreshing change.
 
I stopped wearing rings completely at the start of the pandemic. I thought I could sanitize hands better without any ring on. Anyway I don’t think alcohol based sanitizers will harm any precious metals & diamonds.

Wear only ear studs as all dangles & hoops stick out at an odd angle with face mask on. My bracelets & chains/pendants get to see daylight often instead.
 
lucida818 said:
I stopped wearing rings completely at the start of the pandemic. I thought I could sanitize hands better without any ring on. Anyway I don’t think alcohol based sanitizers will harm any precious metals & diamonds.

Wear only ear studs as all dangles & hoops stick out at an odd angle with face mask on. My bracelets & chains/pendants get to see daylight often instead.
Click to expand...
Isn't it strange how much all this has changed our wearing habits? Sadly I can't wear necklaces or bracelets either at work. I could wear stud earrings but don't wear any these days.

karylicious said:
It takes the rhodium off the metal...
Click to expand...

That would be a plus for me! As long as it doesn't keep eating at the gold below!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top