My ER is 2-months old and looks significantly duller than when I first got it...

[arkieb1]

If you have stubborn oils or anything difficult to get off, the blue regular Windex works a treat too. I soak it in it for a while then use a soft toothbrush a tiny bit of a good dishwashing liquid and hot water, scrub, then soak in hot water, then leave on paper towel to dry.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Most of the time I use Windex and toothbrush.

 

[Supersleuth50]

The following method will appear counter intuitive but it works an absolute treat on diamond, rubies and sapphires. (Do NOT try it on emeralds, opals or pearls!)

Dip your diamond ring into baby oil for 20 seconds. Then rinse the ring in water (remembering to put the plug in the sink).

Then dip your ring into dawn dish soap for 20 seconds. (the equivalent in the UK is Fairy washing up liquid). Rinse the ring in water, again remembering the sink plug.

Put the ring on and leave to air dry.

Voila. A clean diamond without any soaking or scrubbing oWalsingham harsh chemicals.

Another tip. To keep your diamond clean for longer, when showering use a shower oil (a mixture of oil and detergent) rather than a shower gel (just the detergent).

This method works because old hardened, baked-on, oxidised oil from fingerprints or hand lotions is difficult to remove using detergent alone. However, old hardened oil easily dissolves in new oil. The new oil can easily be removed by the detergent.

 

[Supersleuth50]

The previous message should say:
"Voila. A clean diamond without any soaking or scrubbing or harsh chemicals."

Sometimes I think my autocorrect has a mind of its own.

If you are wondering, baby oil is a pure mineral oil used to moisturise babies' skin.

 

[headlight]

I clean my jewelry often. Usually, I use blue Dawn, just two or three drops in water. I let the jewelry soak for a while and then I soak whatever piece I am cleaning in clear water in a different container. Afterward, I use a baby toothbrush to gently clean the jewelry as I rinse it under water (be careful the drain is covered!). Sometimes, I add a splash of amonia to the Dawn. About once every three weeks, I soak my engagement ring, diamond band, diamond earrings, etc. in a mixture of 1/3 amonia and 2/3 water (as recommended by WF). I leave the diamonds in the mixture about 5-10 minutes and then I give them a brushing and rinse. The amonia gives the diamonds a great shine!

I don’t want to negate what WF told you, but ammonia is very hard on metals and I would stay away from it. I’m going by what I learned in the GIA Jewelry Forensics continuing Ed course that I took when I was working toward becoming a Graduate Gemologist (which I now am).

 

[headlight]

question: does any dish washing liquid work or does it have to be DAWN?

seems everyone is mentioning Dawn specifically.

thanks!

Yes, Dawn! Recommended by jewelers.

 

[headlight]

A little input from a Graduate Gemologist who is obsessed about diamonds being clean!
Diamonds are grease magnets. In fact, grease belts are used at diamond mines when recovering diamond rough to separate it from other gravels!
Definitely rings with more leakage will be affected by dirt/oils more because what is called the angle of incidence is limited and that affects what is called the angle of reflection.
My GIA 3x will look more unattractive after it gets daily gunk on it than my BGD AGS triple zero, but I’m still not satisfied with that when dirty, either.
I clean my rings always after each wearing. Even if I started the day out with a clean ring, should I be going out that evening I clean it again!
Sometimes I do a Dawn soak overnight in hot water followed by brushing the next day. What I’ve noticed is that if you pay special attention to the crown area, it really helps. I was always told that the pavilion was the culprit but I noticed also focusing specifically on the crown makes a big difference.
Some products I’ve been very happy with:
1. Tiffany’s jewelry cleaner… it is a bit pricey but comes with a lot of useful goodies in the package and lasts a long time. It does an excellent job but I do feel it leaves what feels like to me a sticky residue on the mounting after you initially dry it. It does seems to dissipate.
2. The cleaning solutions by Juli brush. I don’t use my Juli brush anymore for various reasons, I just use a dedicated soft brush. You can order the cleaners separately. There is a gel and also more recently a foam offered. Both are very effective. The foam is nice because you can put it on the stone and let it sit for a few minutes and it really does a thorough clean.
3. For the hand washing throughout the day, I’ve started using Shinery. It is like a jewelry cleaning hand soap. You can read about it on the website. Quite innovative. A bit pricey but I think it will last a long time and given I’m obsessed over keeping my diamonds clean it is worth it to me. You don’t need to use 3 pumps each time as indicated so that will help it last longer. I will still do my regular cleaning at the end of the day so my ring is ready to go in the morning, but Shinery helps reduce that daily build up.
But, as I referenced above, please do not use ammonia.

 

[petrock<3]

I’m crazy about cleaning my rings everyday. I love to see them at their best and it’s part of my routine. I enjoy the little ritual and resulting sparkles!
I use a soft little paintbrush to get in all the crevices, hot water and some kind of blue jewelry cleaning solution.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I use three things to keep my ring and studs sparkling:

1. An ultrasonic about twice per week. (If I had more time, I'd clean them every night, but most days its a race to get to bed on time, and a race to get out the door in the morning!)

2. Lavish foaming cleanser when I can't use the ultrasonic (like when I'm traveling or if I want a faster, less-work-involved clean.)

3. I keep a Diamond & Gemstone cleaning cloth in my purse to swipe over the crown of my diamonds during the day. Body oils always accumulate on the crowns so a quick swipe of the cloth (an eyeglass cloth works well too) takes the grease off. Just be sure you are buying cloths that don't have any chemicals on them so they don't damage the metal parts of your jewelry. Also you want lint-free cloths so nothing gets caught on the prongs.

 

[Cerulean]

I use three things to keep my ring and studs sparkling:

1. An ultrasonic once or twice a week.

2. Lavish foaming cleanser when I can't use the ultrasonic (like when I'm traveling or if I want a faster, less work involved clean.)

3. I keep a Diamond & Gemstone cleaning cloth in my purse to swipe over the crown of my diamonds during the day. Body oils always accumulate on the crowns so a quick swipe of the cloth (an eyeglass cloth works well too) takes the grease off. Just be sure you are buying cloths that don't have any chemicals on them so they don't damage the metal parts of your jewelry. Also you want lint-free cloths so nothing gets caught on the prongs.

A cleaning cloth is brilliant. I hate when I’ve swiped my ring or earrings against skin - that’s such a nice solution to a quick clean!

 

[RunningwithScissors]

A cleaning cloth is brilliant. I hate when I’ve swiped my ring or earrings against skin - that’s such a nice solution to a quick clean!

Eye glass cloths work marvels too! (And vise-versa...diamond cleaning cloths works amazingly well on your specs!)

 

[diamonds_galore]

I place some diamond cleaning solution in a small 2 ml spray vial (like an empty perfume sample spray) along with a small lint free cloth and keep them in my makeup bag at all times because God forbid anyone sees me with dull diamonds! Also I keep the same diamond cleaning solution in a small spray bottle and every time after I finish putting on my perfume, I spray my diamond necklace and earrings with the solution to prevent buildup from the alcohol and perfume

 

[babs23r]

Hi. What is the best ultrasonic jewelry cleaner To use?

 

[MissGotRocks]

I think mine is Magnasonic from Amazon. However, I don’t even use it anymore. I use Dawn dishwashing liquid or Windex and clean them often.

 

[babs23r]

has anyone heard of using hydrogen peroxide in the ultrasonic?

 

[momofive]

I bought an ultrasonic cleaner after reading about it on PS, but then I've also seen people say NOT to use it because it loosens the stones, or at least the melee. The vibration does not seem that great to me. What is the consensus?

 

[DejaWiz]

has anyone heard of using hydrogen peroxide in the ultrasonic?

I would highly advise against that: H2O2 is corrosive to almost all metals since it is a rather strong oxidizer.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Have you cleaned your ring using Dawn? I think you will see a big difference. I clean my diamond every day to keep it sparkling clean!

 

[Grymera]

I have the Magnasonic and think it’s fine for pave in moderation. I think the bigger issue is that sometimes with small stones and pave, they can loosen with wear and tear. Then “junk” can be what keeps them in place. Thus, remove the junk, the stone is suddenly loose. But it wasn’t necessarily because of the vibrations. It can, I suppose contribute to wear and tear but I don’t think for a high quality piece it will be too harsh every now and then. But then again, trust whatever your jeweler tells you about your piece.

 

[babs23r]

My husband brought home a professional ultrasonic yesterday.
My rings weren’t really so dirty, but I wanted to see what would happen.I put dishwashing liquid and water in the beaker, with water in the tank. Diamond came out beautifully. Sapphire too, but after today, the sapphire isn’t as shiny.

 

[MissGotRocks]

My husband brought home a professional ultrasonic yesterday.
My rings weren’t really so dirty, but I wanted to see what would happen.I put dishwashing liquid and water in the beaker, with water in the tank. Diamond came out beautifully. Sapphire too, but after today, the sapphire isn’t as shiny.

Did you wear the sapphire today and that is why it is no longer shiny?

 

[NY_Resonant]

I tried the baby oil/mineral oil for 30 seconds, rinse, dawn dish soap for 30 seconds, rinse method today. HUGE boost to sparkle factor. Love it.

 

[babs23r]

I did wear the sapphire the other day. I usually wear it every day. I guess I have to clean it every dat!!!

 

[MissGotRocks]

I did wear the sapphire the other day. I usually wear it every day. I guess I have to clean it every dat!!!

Yes, in order to keep it at its best. I clean all of mine every day for that very reason. They don’t require prolonged soaking or cleaning if you quickly do it every day after wear.

 

[Tonks]

I've started using my Ninja coffee bar to run hot water into my Yeti (with my jewelry & dawn dish soap in it) before bed, put the lid on, and letting them soak overnight. The Yeti keeps the water much hotter much longer than a regular dish or mug. I barely have to brush anything in the morning; rather, I gently put them all into a mesh coffee filter (one of those 'permanent' kind) and give everything a good rinse, blow them with my hair dryer, and voila ... clean & sparkle city!

I just saw this post and while it is several years old I want to say THANK YOU! What a brilliant use of a Yeti. I may get a shorter one and dedicate it to jewelry. This is such a great idea.

 

[babs23r]

Thank you all for your great ideas!
im going to use dishwash and water soak now!