How to care for your Engagement Ring

We know you love your new Engagement Ring, and we’re here to help you keep it sparkly and beautiful for years. 

So, How do you care for your Engagement Ring?

Here are our top 10 rules for wearing, maintaining, and protecting your precious new piece of jewelry: 

1. It is always a good idea to remove your engagement ring before doing anything super physical (or where the ring is likely to get snagged, beat up, or otherwise damaged).  This is particularly important for those non-diamond Engagement rings with softer stones!

2. Consider not sleeping in your ring.  Seriously! Here’s why: 
Skin needs to breathe, or it can become irritated.  And, believe it or not, constant rubbing of bedding against prongs and gems will result in increased wear over time.  Prongs can also get caught in bedding, and can be pulled, sometimes loosening your stone(s). 

3.  Take it off (temporarily) when using lotions, soaps, makeup, perfumes, household cleaners, and while painting or baking.  You wouldn’t believe the stuff we see embedded between and behind stones!  To keep it looking sparkly, avoid gunking your ring up with these materials – it’ll keep you from having to clean it as frequently, too.

4.  Get it checked AT LEAST once a year. At MAKE MADE, we’ll do this any time, for no cost to you.  It’s important to have your settings checked for the security of your stones.  It’s always better to find a loose stone early than lose it completely.

5.  Insurance exists for a reason. You know the value of your ring – so this one’s up to you. If you splurged for a super fancy statement ring that you saved for, you probably want to insure it.  Insurance gives you peace of mind --  while the sentiment of a stone or ring can never truly be replaced – at least you will have the opportunity to have another stone sourced or ring made if the worst happens.

6.  Store jewelry in a soft, safe place where it won’t be bumping or jingling around with other jewelry. This can cause quite a bit of damage, particularly when it’s in a purse or suitcase.

7.  Rings and sinks don’t mix. When you DO take your ring off for all of those things we mentioned before, don’t leave them near the sink! We know it’s tempting, but you wouldn’t believe how often plumbers get called on emergency ring hunts. Find yourself a pretty little ring dish, and always put it there.  Bonus:  Your dish will ensure you’re not following your steps all over the house to figure out where you put it.  

Check out our beautiful selection of handmade jewelry and trinket dishes here. 

8.  Clean your jewelry with appropriate cleaners (once a week for maintaining maximum sparkle!). This is different for different stones.  Diamonds can be cleaned with pretty much any jewelry cleaner, but those pearls, opals, and other soft stones can’t handle being exposed to chemicals.   If you’re not sure, take it to a jeweler for cleaning and get an at-home recommendation while you’re there.

9.  NEVER use baking soda or toothpaste when cleaning your ring.  Both are abrasive, and will scratch metals and some stones. 

10.  Say NO to swimming in your ring.  Swimming is notorious for accidental ring loss because cold, wet fingers tend to shrink.  Exposure to chlorine over time can also deteriorate the structural integrity of gold, so too much pool or hot tub time can take a toll on your ring. 
Sand at the beach is bad too -- it can scratch certain softer stones and metal.

For even more helpful tips and maintenance information, check out our page on Jewelry Care.