After the countdown to your nuptials begin, you will eventually hit the stage when you need to start searching for the perfect wedding bands. Your first stop? Infacet Jewellers in Cape Town – we’ve been in the diamond business for over 15 years. We’ve also developed some pretty good know-how on ring care over the years – scroll down for our top tips on keeping your engagement ring in tip-top condition and where NOT to wear it!
The Gym
Before you think about breaking a sweat, it’s a good idea to take that pretty little ring off. Platinum and gold are malleable metals. Over time, whether you are lifting weights, spinning, rowing etc, a consistent grip while you have your engagement ring on WILL bend it, or at the very least mark the band. Although diamonds are very durable, they CAN also become chipped and the prongs holding them in place loosened.
The Shower
Although it would seem like an easy way to clean your engagement ring every time you shower- soap, shampoo and body washes can cause build up under or on your ring and make diamonds appear dull and cloudy. Remember those cloudy water marks that can build up on glass shower doors? That’s exactly what will happen to your sparkly diamond.
Cleaning
Not only is this prime time for you to easily bang up your ring – think kitchen counters, bathroom taps and snags on linen – you can also do serious damage to the stone and setting. You can even potentially alter the colour with harsh chemicals in cleaning products like bleach and ammonia.
Swimming
This seems SO obvious but brides have come back to us in the past with stories about losing a diamond (or whole ring) in the swimming pool or ocean. First of all cold water “shrinks” your fingers making it that much easier for a slightly loose ring to slip off. Chemicals in chlorine pools aren’t great either. They can damage or dis-colour the mounting of your ring and the platinum or gold of your band. It’s not worth it.
Sleeping
We know all about the ring anxiety you feel when you first start wearing that sparkly ring. You might not want to ever take it off, but it really is best to when you go to bed. It sounds silly, but a prong can easily catch on sheets or threads in your blankets causing you to lose your diamond. It has happened to many of our clients over the years, and we always recommend rather leaving it off overnight.
Infacet Jewellers advice for keeping your engagement ring super sparkly?
“Use a bowl of warm water with a small amount of soap. A little bit of Sunlight works wonderfully. Use a very soft brush or cloth to clean off any build-up – especially underneath the diamond since that’s where most dirt builds up and light needs to penetrate. Make sure you rinse off all soapy suds afterwards and dry off with a soft cloth. Shine it up with a fine polishing cloth – those little ones that you get with a good pair of sunglasses work like magic!”
