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Three ways to protect your jewellery from hand sanitizer

By no means are we suggesting that you stop your hand sanitizer use: health and hygiene are always much more important than any piece of jewellery.

However, there are ways to sanitize and keep your jewellery safe at the same time.  Please avoid rubbing harsh cleaning products and hand sanitizers directly onto your jewellery.

  1. For your engagement ring: excessive use of hand sanitizers and home cleaning agents can make the rhodium plating finish on white gold wear a little bit faster, but it won’t cause immediate damage. Frequent contact with jewellery cleaning agents such as rubbing alcohol, chlorine, antibacterial soaps, bleach and hand sanitizers can weaken the brilliance of all precious metals; platinum, yellow gold, rose gold and white gold.  We advise that your gemstones might lose its brilliance and it probably will not come back.  Take care with your crystalline based gemstones; tanzanite, emerald, rubies, sapphire, garnet, topaz, citrine, peridot, aquamarine, amethyst and morganite.

Extensive use of hand sanitizer can also loosen the prongs that hold your diamonds and gemstones in place.  Please take off your ring before applying sanitizer, let your hands dry and then put your ring on again.

We strongly suggest that you wash your rings once a week in diluted dishwashing liquid in lukewarm water with a soft toothbrush.  Rinse it thoroughly with clean water and let it dry completely before wearing it again.

2. 70% and higher Alcohol based sanitizer can pit the surface of your softer gemstones such as: pearls, opals, amber, turquoise, moonstone, lapis lazuli and malachite. These gems are organic and not crystal in nature and therefore the shiny top surface will lose its lustre if it comes in contact with Alcohol based products. If these stone came into contact with hand sanitizer, use a soft damp cloth that you soaked in a solution of mild dishwashing liquid and lukewarm water to wipe the stones.  Do not submerge a strand of pearls of a pearl bracelet into the water; the water will weaken your silk strand on which the pearls are strung.

3. Cosmetic Jewellerymade from acrylic, base metals and plastic should not come into contact with alcohol.  This will cause the jewellery to discolour, crack, and develop small holes. During our Covid 19 pandemic this can be dangerous, as cracks and holes serve as bacterial breeding grounds.  If these materials do come into contact with hand sanitizer, rinse it thoroughly with water and wipe it with a soft cloth.  Leave the item/s to dry further before storing it in your jewellery box.

How to clean your diamond jewellery

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