Loose settings, lost diamonds, and cloudy stones, oh my! There’s a lot that can go wrong with taking care of diamond jewelry, and a lot of people skip over this when they first think about building their diamond jewelry collection. When properly taken care of, diamond jewelry will last for decades — if not generations. There are plenty of people that keep their jewelry “in the family” so to speak. They pass it down from generation to generation to the point where they become precious family heirlooms that are truly priceless.

Yet if you use the wrong things there’s a high risk of damaging the diamond jewelry that you’ve invested so much money into acquiring. Surely there’s a way to be cautious and still get the job done when cleaning diamond jewelry?

Sure there is. The first thing that you want to do is make sure that you are using very mild materials. A soft toothbrush and a little soap can be more than enough to wipe away the dirt, dust, and grime that can accumulate over your hands and your rings as well. You can even apply this to necklaces and other diamond pieces if you really wanted to. The key here is to take your time and go slowly.

If you’ve purchased your jewelry directly from a jeweler that you can visit, they will probably recommend some specialized cleaner that you can use. As long as they indicate it’s safe for diamonds, then you can definitely use it. You will want to avoid using general jewelry cleaner — even if it doesn’t damage your diamond, the metal material in question might be damaged in some way or even scratched. You don’t want to find that the ring that you love so much has been scratched up simply by an abrasive cleaner. That’s never fun!

At this point, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed about having to clean your jewelry at all. Don’t forget that you can always take your jewelry to a reputable jeweler for cleaning purposes. The important thing here is to make sure that you get your jewelry back exactly the way you turned it in. Some jewelers have been known to swap out stones and other dirty tricks, so tread very carefully down this road if you’re going to get your cleaning taken care of by a professional.