Engagement Ring Care

With a little care your ring will maintain it's beauty for many, many years. With practical habits, regular cleaning, and careful storage, caring for your engagement ring is easy and efficient.

When to Remove Your Ring

Take off your ring when going to bed to allow your skin to breath. Sleeping with your jewelry on will reduce it’s lifetime as the constant rubbing of bed sheets on metal and gems will abrade it over time.
Avoid wearing your ring while swimming, because your fingers could temporarily shrink in cool temperatures, allowing it to fall off. Please don’t build sand castles with your ring on. The sand can scratch your stone and metal and the ring can easily get lost.
Chloride in pool water can eat away your gold jewelry over time; sulfur in hot springs can tarnish silver and low karat gold jewelry.
Take your ring off before participating in sports or other vigorous activity that could involve sharp blows. Rock climbing with your engagement ring on, even if you wear gloves, is not a good idea. Sharp blows can dislodge a gem in it’s setting, chip or scratch it.
Remove your ring before applying makeup, lotion, or creams to your hands to avoid excessive buildup that can dull the stones. If you wash your hands with your ring on, rinse the ring well afterwards. Hand soaps do contain lots of oils that will dull your stone, watery soap always finds it’s way into settings and will make your ring look dirty and lifeless.
Take off your engagement ring before beginning housecleaning or yard work that involves harsh chemicals or rough equipment.

Metal Wear and Scratches

Normal wear and tear happens, and you will need to maintain your piece over the years. Precious metals wear down over time especially when worn every day like wedding or engagement rings. Platinum is the most resistant to wear of all the precious metals and will need less maintenance than Palladium, Gold or Silver alloys.
Please note that all metal will scratch. Softer metals like sterling silver will have deeper scratches than while gold, palladium or platinum rings. Finishes will change with wear, high polished rings will get a more satin look due to tiny scratches, while satin finishes will get a dull shine and show some shiny burnished marks where it got in contact with harder objects. Your ring will develop it’s own patina based on how you wear it. A professional jeweler can polish out light scratches from time to time. To give your polished silver, gold, palladium and platinum rings a quick polish yourself use a special jewelry polishing cloth. The cloth should be kept in the packet when not used otherwise abrasive dust could accumulate on it.

Keeping Track of Your Ring

Place your ring in the same, safe place every day to avoid accidentally misplacing it. Don’t store it in the bathroom as moisture in the air may tarnish alloys such as silver quickly.
Avoid removing or placing your ring near vulnerable places, such as sinks or bathtubs, where it could easily be knocked off and lost.
Always store your engagement ring by itself in a safe place to prevent the jewelry from getting scratched or chipped by other gems.
Keep a little fabric pouch or zip lock bag in your purse for those times you have to take off your ring while being not at home. Wrap your ring in a tiny soft cloth and place in the pouch in a save small compartment of your purse where it does not get shuffled around with other objects.

 

Tips for Ring Storage

Protection from damage and theft should be your primary concerns when storing your engagement ring. Here are a few tips for storing your ring safely.
Jewelry boxes should be lined with soft fabric, but be aware that a noticeable jewelry box is the first place a burglar will look.
A diamond engagement ring should be wrapped in soft fabric and placed in a padded jewelry bag for long-term storage.
It's best to keep seldom-worn jewelry in a safe deposit box.
Never store diamond jewelry loose with other pieces. Diamonds, being the hardest material on earth, could easily scratch or nick other pieces, while the metals on the engagement ring can be damaged by other gems.

Tarnish

Tarnish on sterling silver or silver/palladium ring can develop if they are stored not properly in an air tight zip log bag which will keep it away from air born pollutants. Tarnish develops quickly in a damp environment and is likely to go black in a sulfurous area. Hot tubs and hot springs often have surfur in it's water which will tarnish your jewelry. Keep in mind that some skin care products like Acne solutions do contain sulfur. Do not wear your ring when applying those products and wash your hands before putting your ring back on.
Tarnish is just a thin layer of oxide on the metals surface. In most cases it can easily be removed with a soft jewelry polishing cloth. If you wear your rings every day, tarnish usually does not develop as the rubbing of your skin on metal and the oils of your skin will keep it bright.

Ring Cleaning Tips

Simply wearing your engagement ring while washing your hands is not an adequate way to clean it. In fact, soaps and other cleaners used on your hands can cloud and dull your ring. It should be cleaned periodically to keep it brilliant. Especially gemstone rings with light colored pale gems like white sapphires, aquamarines, topaz and many others will look dull and lifeless if not cleaned at least once a week. Diamonds and moissanites due to their unique internal optical properties and fire will look sparkly for a longer time, but still should be cleaned regularly.

 

Do-it-Yourself Cleaning

The easiest way to clean a ring is with a solution of warm water and mild liquid dish detergent (Dawn works really well). Don't do your cleaning over very hard surfaces like granite counter top or the kitchen sink unless you put down a soft towel. Your jewelry will get slippery and the items could be damaged if they are dropped. Place a plastic Tupperware in your sink, when the ring slips out of your hands it will just fall on soft plastic and not bounce on the hard enamel or steel surface of your sink. Wet the ring with the water/soap solution and use a soft bristled brush like a baby tooth brush to loosen dirt. Gently brush the metal and the stone. Usually there is a hole on the inside of your ring under the setting that allows access to the underside of the stone for cleaning. Rinse the ring and use a soft, lint-free cloth to pat the ring dry (don't rub the stone or metal). Here a video that shows the process.

Store-bought jewelry solutions may also be used for soaking diamond rings as well as solutions of ammonia and ethyl alcohol. Read the instructions on the label carefully and check for which metals and stones the solution is save to use. Ammonia (in a mild solution with three parts water) is particularly good for brightening yellow gold, but should never be used with fracture-filled diamonds as it may cause the diamonds to become cloudy or discolored. Don't use ammonia solutions on Sterling Silver rings. Some ultrasonic cleaners can also be used on certain stones like diamonds and sapphires but are risky for some other gemstones (see table below). Emeralds, opals, pearls and amber should only be cleaned by a jeweler.
If your engagement ring contains different types of stones, be sure whichever cleaning method you choose is appropriate for all of them. Pearls, for example, are far softer and more delicate than many gems, and can easily be scratched or pitted by cleaning solutions recommended for diamonds.

Never use toothpaste to clean your jewelry. Toothpaste is very abrasive and will scratch any fine jewelry metal, and even some gems.

Gemstone	Moh's Hardness	Toughness	Steam Cleaning	Ultrasonic
Alexandrite	8.5	excellent	usually	usually
Amber	2 - 2.5	poor	never	never
Amethyst	7	good	risky	usually
Aquamarine	7.5 - 8	good	risky	risky
Citrine	7	good	risky	usually
Diamond	10	good	usually	usually
Emerald	7.5 - 8	poor	never	never
Garnet	6.5 - 7.5	fair	never	usually
Iolite	7 – 7.5	fair	risky	risky
Jade	6.5 - 7	excellent	risky	usually
Lapis Lazuli	5 - 6	good	never	never
Moissanite	9.5	good	usually	usually
Morganite	7.5 - 8	good	risky	risky
Onyx	6.5 - 7	good	risky	Risky
Opal	5.5 - 6.5	fair	never	never
Pearl	2.5 - 4.5	good	never	never
Peridot	6.5 - 7	fair	never	risky
Rose Quartz	7	good	risky	risky
Rhodolite	6.5 - 7.5	good	never	usually
Ruby	9	excellent	usually	usually
Sapphire	9	excellent	usually	usually
Smokey Quartz	7	good	never	usually
Spinel	8	good	usually	usually
Tanzanite	6.5 - 7	fair	never	never
Topaz	8	poor	never	never
Tourmaline	7 – 7.5	fair	risky	risky
Turquoise	5 - 6	fair	never	never
Zircon	6.5 - 7.5	fair	risky	risky

Hardness and toughness are not directly related as the table shows. Hardness relates to scratch resistance, a materials ability to stand up to abrasion. Toughness is a measure of the ability of a mineral to absorb energy, and is a measure of how likely a material is to chip or break. Even though diamond is the hardest mineral it can chip and fracture in normal day to day wear and tear.
More gemstone info is available here.

Professional Cleaning

Rings can also be professionally cleaned if they become dirty. Ultrasonic and steam cleaners are the most popular choices among jewelers. If your engagement ring has any serious flaws, such as fractures or cracks in the stone, be sure the jeweler is aware of them because certain cleaning techniques may exacerbate the flaws.

Maintaining Your Ring

Clean your ring at least once a week to keep it as brilliant as the day you first put it on.
Get your gemstone ring inspected at least twice a year by a qualified jeweler to guarantee the setting is secure. Have any repairs recommended by your jeweler performed right away.

 

Insuring Your Investment

Have the appraisal of your engagement ring updated every few years in case of loss. Insure your valuable engagement ring against theft, loss, or accidental damage. See also my warranty info for more information.

If in doubt just ask me about unique care and cleaning requirements of the ring you purchased from me.

Rings can turn your fingers green

Ever wondered why some rings can leave a green or black stain on your finger after hours of wear? Here a few answers:

If I put a brass ring on my finger and wear it for a couple hours, there will be a green stain on my finger. Copper rings sometimes leave a dark stain on my finger. If I wear a sterling silver ring, I never had that problem. But some people (and it's not really that common) can experience the green finger phenomena with sterling silver and even low karat gold alloys. That does not mean the ring is cheap. It just means that person reacts to the metal in some way.

It usually has something to do with the person's body chemistry. Most likely they have a natural high acidity level in his/her skin. The green finger will happen more likely in hot and humid weather conditions. Once they sweat, a chemical reaction starts between the metals in the ring and the humidity surrounding it. As a result oxides will form. Those oxides are on the surface of the ring and rub off onto your skin leaving a greenish or dark stain. The stain is harmless and non-toxic. It can be washed off with soap and water. But if you actually experience a red itchy rash under your ring, it points to an allergy and should be taken more seriously that the harmless green stains. If you experience a rash, remove the jewelry, get it thoroughly (professionally) cleaned and let the skin heal up before wearing it again. If it persist consult a doctor to find the cause.

If your ring is tight or quite wide (or stacking rings) there is a bigger chance you encounter this issue as moisture is more likely to be trapped on the inside of your ring. Your skin does not get a chance to dry under tight, wide or stacked rings. Washing your hands with your rings left on, not rinsing well and drying afterwards the ring and the skin under the ring, bears a bigger risk too.

Many stacked silver rings

Similar chemical reactions can also be caused by ingredients in soaps and lotions. Those are often a culprit for rashes too as soap scum gets trapped between your skin and the ring metal. It's always best to take your ring (or all jewelery off) before showering, washing hands, dish washing and other activities involving exposure to water especially swimming in pools or salt water.

So why can you get the green stain from some sterling silver rings and not others you may ask?

Well, they may fit differently. A more loose fitting ring might not cause that little micro climate and resulting stain from oxidation. Try wearing your ring on a different narrower finger for a couple days and see if the problem persists.

Another reason could be the composition of the metal alloy.
Not all sterling silver is treated equally. All the name sterling silver says is that there is a minimum of 925 parts of pure silver in 1000 parts of alloy. The rest is most often copper. But there are also some newer alloys replacing some of that copper with germanium, zinc, palladium or platinum to increase strength, to reduce tarnish and firescale, or for better casting properties.
Your sterling silver jewelry is usually marked with a 925 stamp on the inside, referring to the silver content. But that mark does not say anything about the other 7.5% metals. Some people, who have issues with the traditional 7.5% copper sterling silver alloy, may be perfectly fine with some of the newer alloys or vice versa.
Low karat gold like 9k, 10k or even 14k can cause the green or black stains too as the lower oxidation resistant gold content is offset by a higher base metal content like copper. All gold alloys contain copper in various percentages. If your skin reacts to copper, you may experience issues with gold alloys too. The higher the gold content the less likely any reactions occur.
Reactions to palladium (950PD) or platinum alloys are very, very rare.

Can a Rhodium plating solve the issue?
Well maybe, but there are drawbacks to consider too.

Artisanal handmade sterling silver rings are rarely rhodium plated. But most commercial mass produced sterling silver jewelry available in malls is rhodium plated these days. It's very a thin layer of an expensive metal, Rhodium, coated over a base substrate, in this case sterling silver. It prevents silver jewelery from tarnishing, which is why it's so commonly used in these retail settings. Can you imagine how much time a sales person would have to spend polishing all that sterling silver jewelry sitting in their show cases to keep it shiny white looking? Rhodium is also a quite hard metal and can give jewelry made from softer sterling silver an initial advantage when it comes to scratch resistance. It also gives it a similar look like plated white gold jewelry at a lower price. So sounds great, right? Well not so fast.

That thin layer of rhodium will wear off over time. It may be a great solution for necklaces or earrings that don't get the rubbing action a ring gets. But on rings, especially those worn daily like engagement or wedding rings, that Rhodium layer can come off quite fast. How fast depends on the layer thickness and each persons wear and body chemistry. Some people can strip a plating within days or weeks, for others it may hold for a couple month or even a year or two. But it will eventually always wear off. And when it does come off, it won't look pretty as it wears unevenly. Rhodium plating does not age well. It may look blotchy and get scratches exposing the different material underneath in some parts more than in others. That material underneath is not necessarily nicely white polished sterling silver. The silver below may have a different texture than the plated surface and tarnishes.

The layer thickness of the plating may vary widely from one manufacture to another. Some just do a flash plating job that won't last more than a few weeks at all. Often rhodium plating isn't directly done over sterling silver but plated with a layer of nickel first. When the rhodium wears off, your skin gets exposed to nickel, which causes skin allergies with nasty rashes for quite a lot of people. So you may have avoided your harmless green stain issue and got a nasty red rash instead some time later. A Rhodium allergy is unusual, but possible too.

Sure you can try to get your ring re-plated as soon as it starts wearing off. But that process isn't cheap and you will pay quickly more in these re-plating jobs that your sterling silver ring cost you initially.
It's also a pain to do any repair work on plated rings as the plating first needs to get stripped before it gets sized or repaired, adding cost to the process. Refinishing a plated ring is also not as easy as repolishing a un-plated sterling silver ring. The normal polishing action on a polishing wheel would just strip the thin layer of rhodium off.
For these reasons I don't recommend rhodium plating for high wear jewelry like rings. It ends up being more a pain than it's worth.

So what can you do if you experience a green stain from your newly acquired nicely hand made ring you love so much?

• check if it's too tight and traps sweat and moisture underneath, if so ask the maker if they can stretch it slightly for you to provide a better fit
• clean your ring and skin well and keep both dry, don't wear it when being exposed to water like showering, hand washing, swimming etc. Remove rings at night to give your skin a chance to breath.
• change your diet so your skin is less acid (probably note everyone's first approach)
• clean the inside of the ring as often as possible (daily) with polishing cloth. After about a week or two, the reaction should stop occurring.
• try soaking your rings in a mixture of household ammonia and water (50/50) for a day or two. The ammonia solution will turn blue as it forms a copper ammonia ion and this will not hurt the silver. After that, your rings will not turn your skin green because the copper has been removed from the surface of the sterling. Be careful if you have any stones set in your rings. Some stones should not be soaked in ammonia.
• consider if Rhodium plating may be worth it for you with all the maintenance issues it may have
• apply a protective shield like clear nail polish to the inside of your ring. It will wear off over time and has to be redone.
• if all does not help consider remaking the ring in a different metal. Platinum, palladium and 18k gold are safe options but come at a higher price. Or use some of the new silver alloys like Argentium, Continuum, deox-silver, palladium sterling or platinum sterling.

If you want to learn more about the metals I use feel free to check out this post.

How to clean your rings see info on my web site.

For more detailed info about sterling silver in general check out a post I co-wrote on EtsyMetal's blog.