With proper care, quality jewelry can survive through many generations. Most jewelry is durable enough to withstand the wear and tear of everyday life, but jewelry should be treated carefully to ensure that the metals and gems stay in good condition. Gold and platinum are strong metals and diamonds are scratch-proof, but neither are indestructible!
If you’re gardening, weight-lifting, rock-climbing, doing any kind of extreme sport or doing rough work with your hands, it’s probably best to leave your rings at home. Going swimming, skiing, or taking a long walk on a sandy beach? Leave your rings at home. Looking for rings in the sand, pool, ocean, or ski slope is very tricky indeed. Does your ring feel loose enough to slide off your finger? Bring it in to have it sized so it doesn’t fall onto the ground and get damaged.
Lastly, just because it’s a diamond, doesn’t mean it can’t break or chip! If you have a delicate ring or piece of jewelry where the edges of the diamond are exposed, take extra care not to hit it against any hard surfaces. The diamond could crack or chip!
Here are some photos of damaged jewelry we’ve seen over the years…
Diamonds can crack, chip, and break! Diamonds with corners, especially princess cut diamonds, are susceptible to breakage of the pointed corners.
Platinum is a hard metal, but it can get scratched and pitted over time especially when exposed to rough surfaces or heavy-duty handwork.
Tungsten is a heavy and scratch-resistant metal that appeals to people with an active lifestyle who don’t want to scratch up their ring. Tungsten is a hard metal, but it is brittle! Drop your tungsten band on a hard tile floor and it may end up looking like this.
We recommend having your jewelry checked every 6 months to make sure that the prongs are tight and the stones are not loose. This is good preventive maintenance, especially for more delicate settings or settings with little diamonds along the shank.
A bottle of jewelry cleaner is included with every purchase at Protea Diamonds. If you run out, stop by to pick up some more! We once had a client who read an old wive’s tale that said leaving a ring in bleach overnight was a good way to clean her ring. By the next morning, the bleach had completely eaten away her platinum ring. Using a proper jewelry cleaner is the best way to keep your jewelry sparkly and clean. Don’t feel like cleaning your ring yourself? Bring it by and we will clean it in our ultrasonic or steam cleaner!
