Jeweler's Tip: How Often Should you Clean and Check your Ring?

While many pieces of jewelry are timeless, all jewelry will not last as long as it’s meant to without regular cleaning and checking by a jeweler. Even jewelry that is not necessarily in harm’s way like necklaces and earrings can wear over time. Keith Anderson recommends getting your jewelry, especially rings, cleaned and checked at least every six months. Here are a few his reasons why:

• Dirty jewelry, even that which does not appear too dirty, likely is unless you clean it regularly. Regular use of hand soaps, sanitizers, lotions, and just the sweat from your hands can build up in the setting of your ring. The friction this causes the prongs and setting itself to wear down more rapidly over time.
• The wearing down and other damage of prongs leads to compromised settings that could cause a lost stone. If you wear your ring often and do not have it inspected, it is likely that the prongs could be worn on the top and sides, upright at the top from being snagged, or even bent at an incorrect angle from an accidental smack.
• Even settings like channel and bezel settings have their weak points that are not recognizable without the proper equipment. For example, the walls of a channel or bezel setting can become too thin over time, which exposes and endangers more of the stone.

While these are most pertinent to those who wear their rings quite a bit, some of the same issues can occur with your favorite necklace or pair of earrings. Have you ever snagged a sweater on one of the two, and not thought about the potential damage? It is harder for these items to come by natural wear and tear, but it does happen. This is why Keith recommends you get all of the jewelry you wear regularly, especially your rings, checked and cleaned at least every six months.

T.K. Anderson Designs cleans and checks rings for free, so stop by any time!