When a woman puts on her diamond ring, it isn’t just a piece of jewelry to her, it’s a statement of the love she carries for the person that gave it to her. That love could also extend to the family that she shares with that loved one as well, and so she cherishes that ring for decades, no matter how much it cost originally or what has transpired over the years. Anything that is worn on the hands will have a tendency to wear out, even things made from metals, like a ring. Plus, gold is a fairly soft metal, which is one of the reasons it’s usually mixed into an alloy to give it some hardness and strength. Here are some great tips on the cleaning, maintaining, and repairing of your diamond ring.
These Cherished Possessions Need Regular Examinations
Many top jewelry stores online will offer lifetime free cleanings for your diamond ring and at the same time they’ll take a quick look at the prongs that hold the diamond in the setting to see if any of them are becoming worn. The prongs are the tiny finger-like pieces of gold that hold the diamond in place, they are particularly prone to being hit, worn, or damaged since they are quite small and very exposed.
When you have your ring cleaned, that’s the best time to have the jeweler put the ring under the magnifying glass and take a close look at all of the different stress points on the ring. If the sales clerk is the only one in the shop, ask if you can leave the ring for a few hours and have a real, experienced jeweler examine it after it’s been cleaned. It would be a good idea to have your diamond ring inspected and cleaned at least every 6 months depending on how much you use your hands and what kind of work you do.
Steam Cleaning Your Ring
If you have a choice, ask for the steam cleaning of your ring, it does the best job and doesn’t use any harsh chemicals that could damage your ring or burn your skin if not cleaned off thoroughly. Gold and diamonds are very resilient materials but your hands get dirty many times per day with greases, lotions, sweat, and all kinds of other things.
The Cost Of Diamond Ring Repair Can Vary
If you have a long-standing relationship with your jeweler, you’re likely to get a better price on repairs, especially if you originally purchased your ring from them. The last thing they want is for your diamond to fall out of the setting a become lost. That’s bad for business, even though they aren’t responsible, they want their customers to say good things about them, always.
If all you’re getting is a re-tipping of the prongs, a very common procedure, the cost should be in the $30 to $100 dollar range. This involves rebuilding a prong using new gold wires that match the original alloy. Usually if one prong is showing signs of wear, several others will need fixing at the same time. It’s always best to take care of all the work at once since time passes quickly and failure to act could result in a lost diamond.
The real key to keeping your diamond ring in excellent repair is to take it in and have it cleaned and inspected regularly. Rings get a lot of wear and tear so it’s best to keep up on the maintenance so you aren’t stuck having to buy a new diamond when the original falls out and gets lost.
