Taking Proper Care Of Your Diamonds by Mike Taylor

Taking Proper Care Of Your Diamonds by Mike Taylor
Even though diamonds are one of the hardest naturally occurring substances on earth they can be chipped and damaged and do require a little TLC to keep them as beautiful as the day you got them.
Once a year you should take any mounted diamonds to a jeweler you can trust to have them check the mountings. This will make sure that the settings, or prongs are secure and your diamond will not fall out and get lost.
I say a jeweler that you trust because I always think back to an undercover investigative report on television where a very valuable ring that had the diamond laser marked and appraised by several industry experts was taken to a jeweler that by all accounts was very reputable but upon getting the ring back the diamond had been swapped out for a much cheaper one.
Of course the jeweler had no idea how this could have happened so the moral of the story is to try and have them check your jewelry while you are watching.
When not wearing your diamond jewelry you should keep each item in a jewelry box that is preferably fabric lined with a separate compartment for each piece. This will prevent the diamond from scratching your other pieces of jewelry as well as being scratched itself.
Even though a diamond is very hard it can be chipped rather easily so you want to remove any diamond jewelry while doing any kind of physical work. You also want to keep diamond jewelry away from all household cleaners, particularly bleach, as this can cause a color change to the stone that is irreversible.
To keep your diamonds sparkling brilliantly you do need to clean them periodically to remove the buildup of soaps, lotions and even oil from your skin that can accumulate.
The simplest cleaning method involves soaking them in a mixture of warm water with a mild detergent added. Use a small soft brush to gently clean the stones and rinse them thoroughly in warm water and pat dry with a lint free cloth.
You can also use a commercial jewelry cleaner available in many jewelry and department stores but make sure you buy the right cleaner that is made for diamond jewelry by reading the label and be sure and follow the directions completely.
For the gadget inclined you can buy an ultrasonic cleaner that uses sound waves and a liquid to clean jewelry. This is the cleaning method used in many jewelry stores because they do such a good job and can usually clean more than one item at a time.
If you decide to buy an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner make sure you read and follow the directions before using it to prevent any damage and to get the best results.
By doing a few basic things to maintain your diamond jewelry you will not only help to prevent the loss of a stone you will also keep your diamonds dazzlingly beautiful.
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For more information about diamonds please visit Everything About Diamonds