How to Clean & Care for Your Diamond Ring

A diamond's brilliance comes from its ability to reflect and refract light. Over time, everyday wear deposits a thin film of skin oils, lotion, soap residue, and dust on the surface of the stone. This film doesn't damage the diamond — lab-grown diamonds score 10 on the Mohs hardness scale and are essentially impervious to scratching from daily life — but it does significantly reduce sparkle.

The good news is that a clean diamond looks dramatically better than a dirty one. A ring that seems dull after six months of wear can be restored to full brilliance with ten minutes and a bowl of warm water. Regular at-home cleaning, combined with a professional inspection once or twice a year, will keep your ring looking exactly as it did the day you first wore it.

The most effective at-home cleaning method is also the simplest. You need nothing more than warm water, a small amount of mild dish soap, and a soft-bristled toothbrush.

This method works for all metal types — platinum, white gold, yellow gold, and rose gold — and is safe for lab-grown diamonds in any setting style, including solitaire, halo, pavé, and three-stone.

Most ring damage comes not from wear but from cleaning mistakes. The following should be avoided entirely:

At-home cleaning keeps your ring sparkling, but it cannot replace professional maintenance. A jeweller can do things no home cleaning method can: inspect and tighten prongs, check for hairline cracks in the band, re-polish worn metal, and deep-clean areas a toothbrush cannot reach using professional ultrasonic and steam equipment.

We recommend professional servicing once a year for rings worn daily. This appointment typically takes 30 to 60 minutes and costs very little relative to the value of the ring. More importantly, it catches problems before they become expensive — a loose prong costs a fraction of what it costs to replace a lost diamond.

Good daily habits reduce how much maintenance your ring needs and protect it from the most common causes of damage.

Remove your ring for heavy manual work. Gardening, gym workouts, and DIY projects all risk knocking the setting against hard surfaces. A bent prong from a single impact at the gym can eventually result in a lost diamond.

Put your ring on last when getting ready. Applying moisturiser, sunscreen, and perfume with your ring already on coats the diamond in product residue. Putting the ring on as a final step keeps the stone cleaner for longer.

Store it properly when not wearing it. A ring left loose on a bathroom counter can be knocked into a sink or scratched by other jewellery. A soft pouch or dedicated ring dish near your sink or dressing table makes safe storage effortless.

Consider removing it at night. Some people prefer to wear their ring continuously. Others find removing it before bed extends polish life and reduces the chance of accidental damage. Neither approach is wrong — it is a matter of preference.