How should I clean diamond jewellery? 

Here are some general guidelines for the care and cleaning of your diamonds: 

- Avoid wearing your diamonds while doing housework, gardening or any other kind of rough work. Even though a diamond is extremely durable, a hard blow could chip it.

- Do not place your fingers directly on top of the diamond as oils in your skin will dull the shine (a little like leaving fingermarks on photos)

- Take off your diamond jewellery when putting on any hand creams as the oils in the creams will again make your diamond look dull.

Unless you regularly clean your diamond jewellery even the best cut and colour diamond will look dull and dark! Easy ways to clean your diamonds are listed below. These methods should NOT be used for any other kind of gems as no other gem is as durable as a diamond:

- With an electric toothbrush (any tiny remnant of toothpaste is fine) under a running water, using the toothbrush to get to the hard to reach places behind the diamond. Avoid using the toothbrush on highly polished areas of the jewellery (as it could cause scratches on the metal parts) focussing as much as possible on the diamond areas

- Or in a mug of kettle boiled water with a bit of any mild washing-up liquid, pop the ring in the just boiled water and soak for 2-3 minutes. Take out the diamond jewellery brush the item with a soft brush (e.g. old toothbrush) especially at sides and under the diamond and rinse with warm water. Pat dry with a soft lint-free cloth.

- Or using an ultrasonic jewellery cleaner (the boiling water method mimics the cleaning action of an ultrasonic cleaner). 

For further information see Diamonds Glossary.