How to Care for Your Engagement Ring

A new engagement ring goes everywhere with you, which is exactly why it stops sparkling. Hand cream, washing-up water, sun cream and the general grime of daily life build up under the stone faster than you'd think. The good news is that keeping it lovely takes about five minutes a week and a bit of common sense.

Why your ring goes dull

It's almost never the diamond losing its shine. Diamonds are the hardest natural material going, so they don't scratch or fade. What dulls a ring is a thin film on the underside of the stone, the part you never look at. Soap residue, moisturiser and skin oils settle in the gap between the gem and its setting, and once that gap fills in, light can't bounce back out the way it should. The stone looks grey and lifeless even though it's perfectly intact.

So the trick isn't polishing the top. It's cleaning underneath.

The simple at-home clean

You don't need special kit. Warm water, a drop of washing-up liquid and a soft toothbrush will do almost everything.

• Fill a small bowl with warm (not hot) water and add a little washing-up liquid.
• Let the ring soak for ten to fifteen minutes to loosen the film.
• Gently brush around and under the stone with a soft toothbrush, paying attention to the back of the setting.
• Rinse in a separate bowl of clean water, not under a running tap. A surprising number of rings go down the plughole this way.
• Pat dry with a lint-free cloth, or let it air-dry on kitchen roll.

Do this once a week and your ring will look freshly bought most of the time. A word of warning on home ultrasonic cleaners and the cheap blue jewellery dips: they're fine for solid gold and diamonds, but they can loosen or damage softer stones like emeralds, opals and pearls, and they'll strip the rhodium plating off white gold over time. If your ring isn't a plain diamond solitaire, stick to soap and water.

Take it off more than you think

The single best habit is knowing when to slip the ring off. A few moments worth remembering:

• Anything with chemicals. Cleaning the bathroom, dyeing your hair, using bleach. Chlorine in particular eats away at the alloys in gold and can weaken the metal that holds your stone.
• The gym and heavy lifting. A solid knock against a dumbbell or a kettlebell can bend a claw or chip a stone. Catching a soft band on equipment can warp it out of round.
• Gardening and DIY. Grit, grease and a good whack are all bad news.
• Swimming and hot tubs. Cold water shrinks your finger and rings slide off; chlorinated water harms the metal.

Keep a small dish by the kitchen sink and the bathroom basin so the ring has a home rather than balancing on the edge. Most lost rings are lost at home, not out and about.

Get the claws checked once a year

The setting is the bit that actually fails. The tiny metal claws (or prongs) that hold your stone wear down with daily contact, and a worn claw can let a stone work loose. You won't always notice until it's gone.

A jeweller can check the setting, tighten any loose claws and give the ring a professional ultrasonic and steam clean in about half an hour, often for free or for a small fee if you bought the ring there. Book it in once a year, maybe around your engagement anniversary so it's easy to remember. If you ever hear a faint rattle when you shake the ring near your ear, get it seen sooner. That's usually a loose stone.

How often to do what

Here's the rhythm I'd suggest, depending on how hands-on your daily life is.

Storing and insuring it

When the ring isn't on your finger, keep it somewhere soft and separate. Diamonds are hard enough to scratch other jewellery, so a lined box or individual pouch stops your pieces grinding against each other. Don't just chuck it in a drawer with your earrings.

On insurance: it's the bit everyone puts off and then wishes they'd sorted. Check whether your home contents policy covers the ring, both at home and when you're out, and look at the single-item limit. Many standard policies cap individual items at a few hundred pounds, well below what most engagement rings are worth, so you may need to name it specifically or take out separate jewellery cover. Dig out the receipt or valuation and keep it safe; you'll want it for a claim and for any future resize or repair.

And if your ring has real meaning beyond its value, photograph it from a few angles and note the details. It won't bring back a lost ring, but it makes replacing or remaking one far less painful.

A ring you wear every day is going to pick up the odd scuff and that's fine, it's a sign of a life being lived. Keep the underside clean, take it off when it counts, and have someone check the claws once a year. Do that and it'll still be throwing light around on your fiftieth anniversary.