Cleaning Your Engagement Ring at Home

A glittering new engagement ring is more than a piece of jewellery, it represents the commitment of a couple who are looking forward to the rest of their lives together.

Traditionally, the gold band implies loyalty and sacrifice, and the diamond both the beauty and permanence of love. Custom engagement rings might draw in other stones and motifs to make an even more personal statement.

But inevitably, in contrast to the enduring nature of the couple's feelings, the ring may eventually lose a little of its sparkle as the dirt and dust from everyday life take their toll.

The good news is that it’s a fairly simple matter to clean the ring at home, returning it to the way it looked when it was first placed on her finger. It’s important to remember that these methods are only suitable for rings made from platinum or gold (including white gold), with conflict free diamonds, rubies or sapphires – other types of stone may be damaged because they have a different composition. If you are in any doubt, or your ring is a piece of bespoke jewellery with unusual features, talk to a jeweller for advice.

Wipe out dirt in a flash

Start by taking a close look at the ring to check for damage – particularly the setting of the stone, which may have become worn over time. If you find any problems, take it to a jeweller for repair as even careful cleaning could dislodge the stone or make the damage worse. If everything looks right, you can use ordinary household products to clean off any dirt.

If it’s been a while since you’ve cleaned the ring, or if it’s particularly dirty, try soaking it for several hours in a mug of Flash or any similar floor-cleaner. That should take off or at least loosen the worst of the grime. Make sure it’s a non-abrasive type of cleaner, though – gold is comparatively soft and may easily be scratched. After that, run a bowl of hot water.

Lather, rinse, repeat as necessary

Most rings will shine up beautifully with a soft brush and ordinary washing-up liquid. Start by dripping some washing-up liquid directly onto the ring to make sure you work it into and around the claws of the mounting.

It’s important that the brush is very soft; some people use toothbrushes but even these can be too hard on the metal. Try a baby’s toothbrush or very soft paintbrush, and work gently at any dirt. Remember to brush the inside of the ring and the back of the mounting, which should be open.

Then rinse the ring under the tap and repeat the process until all the dirt is gone. If you need to concentrate on particular patches that have worked into details of the mounting, be careful – you don’t want to push the stone out of place or scratch the gold.

If necessary, soak it a while longer in the cleaning solution. When you’re satisfied, dry and shine the ring on a cloth – it needs to be something that won’t shed lint everywhere or you’ll end up with bits of fluff worked into the details instead of dirt. You can buy lint-free cloths at most jewellers.

The result should be a ring that sparkles like it’s new.