From brides.com
Your engagement ring is an important piece of jewelry. Taking care of you engagement ring should be a top priority after your fiance’ pops the question. You’ve spent your life dreaming of the perfect engagement ring. So now it’s going to be a permanent fixture on your left hand so you want to ensure it stays shiny and sparkly for years to come. From avoiding certain chemicals to storage ideas, here are a few dos and don’ts on how to take care of your engagement ring.
Purchase Insurance
Insurance is necessary to protect your financial investment in the event that it gets lost, stolen, or damaged. It is also important to have your jewelry appraised every five years. The cost of diamonds and precious metals go up. If you lost something that was appraised 10 years ago, the insured value would be far less than the actual replacement cost.
Don’t Remove Your Engagement Ring in Public
Hand washing is a must in a public restroom, but resist to remove your engagement ring while you’re lathering up. The possibility that you might leave your ring on the ledge of the sink or, worse, drop it down the drain, is too great of a risk.
Don’t Touch the Center Stone
Avoid touching the center stone at all costs. Diamonds and other precious stones are magnets for dust, dirt, and things like body oil. When you put on or take off your ring, try grabbing the band on either side of the stone instead of grabbing the stone itself. If your stone ever looks hazy or cloudy, there is probably something stuck underneath it.
Keep Your Ring Clean
Cleaning your diamonds with random home cleaners not recommended. You can clean your diamond ring with hot water, a toothbrush, and gin. Taking your precious and sentimental engagement ring to an expert jeweler to get it properly steamed clean would be a much better choice to make it sparkle.
Don’t Treat Your Ring With Harsh Chemicals Or Put It Through Needless Wear and Tear
A diamond is one of the world’s hardest natural materials but it doesn’t mean a cut and polished diamond can’t chip. Sometimes the top of a cut diamond can be susceptible to wear and tear. Be sure not to knock it against other hard materials or surfaces. Make sure you take off your ring during all hand-heavy activities such as gardening, cleaning dishes, moving furniture, and exercise.
Get a Pre-Wedding Professional Clean
A week or 2 before your wedding is the best possible time to get your wedding bands professionally cleaned by a jeweler. Your jeweler will have access to steamers and sonic cleaners. So take full advantage of those tools for your wedding day photos. Hold off on wearing them until your wedding day to maintain an ultra-clean, high-sparkle look.
