How to Clean Diamond Jewelry

Diamonds can get dirty, and dirt on the surface causes them to lose their brilliance. We've got three methods for cleaning your diamond jewelry so that you can bring back that beautiful shine!

1. Hot Water and Soap: Run your faucet until the water is very hot. Then close your drain! If your drain doesn’t come with a stopper of some sort, take a small plate and turn it upside down over the drain - we don't want you to lose your earrings! Take a small amount of liquid soap and rub it over the diamonds and the gold surface. Make sure your soap doesn’t have any abrasives (i.e. Comet). Then, wipe gently with your fingers until you have removed all the “gunk” that has accumulated on your earring. If you are able, use a soft eyebrow brush or mini-toothbrush to remove the dirt under the diamonds. Then, run the hot water over the earring until all the soap is gone and the diamonds have a shiny appearance and the gold is clean. Don’t use paper towels or anything paper to dry the earrings, because they have very small abrasive material in them. Use the softest cloth you can find, and make sure it’s clean. You don’t want anything in the cloth to scratch the surface of the gold.

2. Microwavable Hot Water and Soap: Put two parts water, one part gentle cleanser (Woolite or a gentle dishwashing soap, and one part ammonia into a microwaveable cup or bowl. Microwave the solution for about 30 seconds, then remove the dish and gently place your jewelry into the solution. Allow it to soak for 10-20 minutes. Then remove and rub gently with your fingers to remove any dirt. Use a toothbrush or other kind of brush ONLY on the under part of the diamonds to remove any accumulated dirt from there. If you have to use something else besides your finger, use a very small piece of flannel cloth to wipe your jewelry. Then rinse it off well with warm water in a sink where the drain is stopped or covered. Once the soapy residue is removed, dry your jewelry with a very soft, non-abrasive cloth. The ammonia will clean the diamonds well but it has also been known to be rough on gold, so you don’t want to leave your jewelry soaking in this solution for more than about 20 minutes as the ammonia could pit the gold or loosen the diamonds in their setting. You can save the cleaning solution you made for multiple washes until it gets visibly dirty.

3. Take to a local jeweler: Ask your local jeweler to clean it. They will put your jewelry in a special cleaning solution that will vibrate while it is suspended in the warm solution. Then after a few minutes, the jeweler will gently hold the jewelry in rubber-tipped tweezers and put it under a stream of steam that comes out of a professional steam machine. Then the jewelry will be dried with a gentle cloth and brought back to you nice and shiny.

One way to prevent your diamonds from getting dirty is to try not to touch them with your fingers, especially right after you have put lotion on your hands! Also, be sure to spray your hair prior to putting on diamond hoop earrings on so that the spray doesn’t get on the surface of the jewelry.

Remember, in order for you to be at your best, your jewelry must also be at its best. Using one of these three methods to clean your diamond hoop earrings will keep them looking radiant and brilliant.