How to Care for a Diamond Engagement Ring

When you are presented with a diamond engagement ring, you may feel overwhelmed by love and thankfulness at first. Then, you may feel fear about how to care for this precious, sentimental and expensive gift. Diamonds are one of the hardest substances on earth, but that doesn't mean that they aren't vulnerable to damage. Knowing how to care for a diamond engagement ring can help you to keep it looking its best for years to come.

1. Clean your diamond engagement ring regularly. Since it is worn on a daily basis, a diamond engagement ring can become dull due to layers of dirt, grime and dust. To clean it, take it off and soak it in a bowl with warm, soapy water. Use a small brush, such as an eyebrow brush, to clean off all the dirt and grime. Pay special attention to the areas between the prongs that hold your diamond to the band. Dirt can become stuck in these small spaces and cause your diamond to loose its fiery brilliance. Once you are done scrubbing, rinse all of the soap completely off in clean water. Pat dry with a jewelers cloth or a piece of dry felt.

2. Alternative cleaning methods. If your diamond engagement ring is really dirty, you may need to do more than the above mentioned soap and brush cleaning. You can purchase a special jewelry cleaning solution kit to wash and clean your diamond engagement ring in. Make sure the jewelry cleaning kit solution is appropriate for diamonds. Another solution is to use a ultrasonic cleaning machine. These machines use a high-frequency sound to generate a cleaning motion. Or, you can simply take your diamond engagement ring to a jewelers to have it cleaned professionally.

3. Store your diamond engagement ring in a safe place. When its not on your finger, your diamond engagement ring should be in a clean, dry place where it will not get jostled around. A space lined with fabric, such as silk, velvet or felt, is best for storing a diamond engagement ring. While the diamond may not get scratched, the band can become damaged and scratched without proper care, especially if it is made of gold instead of platinum. Create a special place for your diamond engagement ring, such as a spot in your jewelry box, where you always place it when it is not on your hand. By always returning it to the same spot, there is less likelihood of it getting damaged or, worse, lost.

4. Make sure your diamond engagement ring is always the right size. A loose diamond engagement ring can move around your finger, making it more apt to get dirty. Since our fingers shrink, and swell, with age, pregnancy and diet, it is important to remain aware of your ring size and if you need to, have your diamond engagement ring re-sized. Resizing your diamond engagement ring does not have to be permanent. Your jeweler can give you a sizer, a small piece of metal or plastic, that fits on your ring in order to make it smaller. This way, if your fingers swell once again, you won't have to have your ring re-sized yet again.