How To Clean Diamond Jewelry

My boyfriend bought me a pair of diamond heart earrings a few Valentine’s ago and they’re my favorite piece of jewelry. I’ve worn them practically every day! But over the years its gotten pretty dull from all the hair styling products and every day grime. The luster and shine isn’t there anymore. So I found a simple cleaning solution:

1. Soak for 20 minutes in a solution of one cup warm water and 1/4 cup ammonia.
2. Gently scrub with a soft-bristle toothbrush to get into the small areas. Soft and gentle is the key! Don’t use a brush with bristles that are too stiff or apply excessive pressure to scratch the metal setting.
3. Rinse with warm water and lay on a tissue to dry.

I’m a little OCD and I like taking my time with precious things. So after rinsing my earrings with warm water, I dried them with a lint-free cloth and used a pin needle to carefully get in between the crevasses of the diamonds and the setting. After I got all the nooks and crannies cleaned, I used a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol to sterilize and now my earrings are sparkly new again!

Diamonds are the hardest known substance, but that doesn’t mean we can bring them back to its glory with any old cleanser. Coatings and other materials used to enhance diamonds can be removed by harsh chemicals or vigorous scrubbing, so take care when it’s time to make your diamond jewelry sparkle.

For more instructions on how to clean diamonds and other types of jewelry, check out RealSimple.com.