Bring the Brilliance Back

Jewelry Cleaning

A diamond’s spectacular beauty is due to its light show. Diamonds reflect light, break white light into its spectral colors, and dazzle the eye with dancing brilliance. To perform its magic, the diamond must be clean.

To complicate matters, diamonds are grease magnets. They will pull the oil from your fingers. Soaps and lotions add a coating that stops the light show. Dust and dirt stick to the grease and oils...all resulting in a lifeless diamond.

Though we suggest a professional cleaning and inspection at least twice a year, cleaning your diamond jewelry at home is simple and rewarding. The key to diamond cleaning is the underneath side or pavilion. A dirty pavilion will absorb light instead of bouncing it back into the eye. The diamond may need to be scrubbed several times before all the build up is removed.

In our ultrasonic cleaners, we use a mixture of equal parts of Mr. Clean, Ammonia, and water. This mixture is safe for diamonds, but ammonia-based cleaners may hurt other gemstones like emeralds, opals, and pearls. For these gems, it is wise to stick with a quick wash in mild detergent and warm water. Some anti-bacteria cleaners can degrade the solder used in jewelry, so be careful of long exposure to these types of soaps (people in the medical professions especially).

Some Don’ts of Jewelry Cleaning:

• Don’t use any products that contain chlorine. Chlorine can damage jewelry by
  attacking the metals used to alloy the gold.
• Don’t use a hard toothbrush, abrasive cleaners, or abrasive toothpastes. These
  products will scratch the metal.
• Don’t use rubbing alcohol because it contains oils which will spot and dull the
  diamond.
• Don't soak emeralds, pearls, opals, or other organic materials in cleaning solutions.

Some Do's of Jewelry Cleaning:

• Mix equal parts of green Mr. Clean, Ammonia, and water. Store the solution in a small glass jar.
• Use this solution daily. Create a habit that connects it to a daily activity like brushing your teeth. Soak your jewelry while you are brushing to create a habit of cleaning your jewelry daily.
• Once a week, warm the solution until it is hot to the touch. Let your DIAMOND jewelry soak in this solution for one or two minutes. This will loosen soap debris and grease. Brush the jewelry with a soft tooth brush.
• Continue this cycle weekly.
• Bring your jewelry to Thollot as often as possible for professional cleaning. The combination of home cleaning and professional cleaning will ensure that your jewelry is as clean as possible every day. 

For difficult areas you can use toothpicks and dental floss. Be careful not to scratch the metal or lift the prongs. A final wipe with a lint-free cloth will remove any dust or water spots.

One final cleaning precaution:

Do the cleaning in a bowl on a clean table. If a diamond should become dislodged, you will be able to find it easily (We have seen diamonds held in the jewelry only by dirt and grease!). If you do the cleaning in a sink, take the precaution of plugging the drain.

If all this seems like too much trouble, let us handle your jewelry cleaning for you. We love the look in our customer’s eyes when they see their jewelry after we have professionally cleaned it. We often hear, “I didn’t even realize it was dirty!” as they look at the light show they didn’t know was missing.