How to clean a diamond ring at home

Why a diamond ring loses its sparkle

A diamond's brilliance comes from light entering the top, reflecting off the angled facets on the underside and returning to your eye. GIA notes that even the touch of a finger can leave enough oil to dull that effect. Once the back of the stone is coated, light leaks out instead of bouncing back, and the diamond looks gray or glassy rather than bright.

The dirt collects where you cannot easily see it: under the stone, between the prongs and in the gallery, the open metalwork beneath the setting. That is why wiping the top with a cloth helps only a little. The cleaning has to reach behind the diamond, which means soaking to loosen the film and a soft brush to lift it out.

How to clean a diamond ring at home

You need a small bowl, warm water, a mild dish soap without moisturizers, a new soft toothbrush kept only for jewelry, and a lint free cloth. GIA names warm water, mild soap and a soft toothbrush as a safe way to clean a diamond, and a plain dish soap is a good degreaser for the oily film. Work at a table, not at the sink; GIA warns against cleaning jewelry near an open drain, and if you must use the sink, close the plug or cover the drain first.

1. 01

   Mix the solution

   Fill the bowl with warm water, comfortable to your hand, and add a few drops of mild dish soap. Stir until you see a light foam. Hot or boiling water is unnecessary and risky for other stones in the setting.

2. 02

   Soak the ring

   Place the ring in the bowl for 20 to 30 minutes. The soap loosens the oil film and lotion residue so the brush does not have to work hard.

3. 03

   Brush gently, especially underneath

   Lift the ring out and brush with the soft toothbrush, working around the prongs and up under the diamond from the back and sides. Dip the brush in the solution as you go.

   CheckYou should see cloudy residue come away from the gallery.

4. 04

   Rinse in clean water

   Rinse the ring in a second bowl of clean warm water, or under a gentle tap with the drain firmly closed. Soap left behind leaves its own film.

5. 05

   Dry and polish

   Pat the ring dry with a lint free cloth or let it air dry on a soft towel, then polish the metal lightly. Paper towels and tissues can leave fibers caught in the prongs.

What not to clean your diamond with

GIA is clear that chlorine, as in household bleach, and abrasives such as scouring powders or toothpaste should never be used on diamonds in jewelry. The diamond itself is hard, but the metal is not: chlorine can attack gold alloys and weaken prongs, and abrasives scratch the polished metal and leave grit in the setting. Baking soda paste is abrasive for the same reason, so it has no advantage over soap. Vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are not needed for the diamond, and they can harm pearls, opals, emeralds and other softer or treated stones that often share a ring with a diamond.

Boiling water and quick temperature changes are another popular shortcut to skip. Diamonds cope with heat, but some are clarity enhanced, and fracture filled stones in particular can be damaged by heat and by ultrasonic cleaning. Those stones need the gentle routine only: a lint free cloth, or warm water, mild soap and a soft brush. Your grading report says whether a stone is treated. If you do not know, treat the ring as if it were and stay with the gentle method. Colored gems and pearls in the same piece set the rules for the whole ring; our guide to cleaning pearls explains why they need even gentler handling.

What jewelers use, and when to use one

Jewelers usually clean with an ultrasonic cleaner, which sends high frequency vibrations through a solution to shake dirt loose, and a steam cleaner, which blasts residue away with pressurized steam. GIA notes that ultrasonic cleaners are safe for untreated diamonds but can damage treated ones, and vibration can shake a stone loose from a worn setting, so it is best done by a jeweler who can check the ring first. The same caution applies to home ultrasonic machines: they are not a problem for a solid, untreated diamond in a sound setting, but they can shake a loose stone free.

A professional clean once or twice a year also brings the ring onto a bench where someone looks at it under magnification. There, a thin prong, a lifted claw or a worn band shows up before a stone is lost. If you want the shine that a jeweler gives, the difference is often polishing of the metal as well as cleaning of the stone.

Check the setting while the ring is clean

A clean ring is the best moment to inspect it. Hold it close to your ear and tap it gently with a fingernail, or press the stone lightly with a fingertip: if it moves, clicks or rattles, stop wearing it and take it to a jeweler. GIA suggests having prongs checked about every six months and looking for gaps between the stone and the metal with a 10x loupe if you have one. Run a cloth over the prongs; a snag means a claw is lifting.

Check the fit, too. Fingers shrink in the cold, and a ring that has become loose can slide off without you noticing. Our guide to measuring ring size explains how to check whether a resize makes sense.

How to keep your diamond ring sparkling longer

GIA suggests cleaning a ring you wear every day about once a week, which keeps the film from building up. Between cleans, handle the ring by the band, not the stone, and put it on after lotion, hand cream, sunscreen and hair products have dried, not before. Take it off for gardening, the gym, cleaning with chemicals and swimming in chlorinated pools, where both knocks and chemicals do their damage.

Store it on its own in a soft pouch or a lined compartment, since diamonds scratch other jewelry and other diamonds. Our guide to storing jewelry shows how to keep pieces apart. If you also wear silver pieces, keep them in a separate place and use the right method for each; our guide to cleaning silver jewelry covers tarnish, which diamonds never develop.