Caring For Your Engagement Ring: Part One

Taking good care of your jewellery doesn’t require much time and the long-term benefits make the extra care well worth the effort. Caring for your engagement ring means that it will still look great, years down the track.

As engagement rings and wedding rings are an important symbol of a couple’s love for and commitment to each other, and are very costly to buy, most people will want to look after them as best they can. And of course, well kept, clean rings will sparkle the most if you maintain the look that they had when first worn.

Caring for your Engagement Ring

Gold is quite a soft metal, so it will scratch and dent when coming into contact with other surfaces that are harder than it is. So actions such as opening a door that has a metal stainless steel handle, changing gears in a car that has a metal gearstick, etc will scratch your rings. Such contact is an inevitable part of wearing your rings every day, but if you can minimise wearing your ring whilst doing activities that will cause the most damage, your ring will look better for longer. One activity that causes a lot of issues is wearing your rings to the gym. Contact with metals such as weights will cause significant damage to your rings. Wearing your rings whilst doing housework is a big “no no” too (maybe you might say that doing housework is a big “no no” in itself!!!).

Damage can be Impact from above pushes the setting down on this engagement ring, bending the ring and breaking the setting
Ring Damaged Due to Gym Workout

Look at the damage done to this ring! It was squashed. Luckily the diamond did survive intact, but the ring is well and truly beyond repair.

We have seen terrible damage done to rings that have been worn whilst doing weights, chopping wood, that have been jammed between shopping trolleys, etc. Sometimes the damage has been so great that diamonds have been chipped and broken, and the ring has had to be completely re-made – a very costly exercise, if you don’t have insurance, or if your insurance company won’t cover the damage.

Damaged ring band with deep indentations
Damaged Diamond Ring

Will Wearing My Rings In The Shower Or In A Pool Or At The Beach Damage It?

Wearing your engagement ring and wedding ring in the shower won’t damage them, but just as your shower screen gets a buildup of soap scum on it, the diamonds in your rings will get the same build up too, making them look dull and lifeless. If you can take your rings off whilst washing your hands and showering, it is best to do so. It is amazing how the sparkle is affected by just a couple of hand washes that leaves a residue of soap on your rings.

Wearing your engagement ring and wedding ring in the pool is fine. Other jewellery that is glued, such as pearl earrings, should not be worn.

Wearing your rings at the beach is okay, but you should bear in mind that sand is abrasive, so you should not be wearing your rings if doing activities such as digging in the sand with your hands.

The biggest danger with swimming with rings on is the risk of losing your rings if your fingers are cold and the ring is a bit loose. Imagine your engagement ring flying off in the surf, never to be found again 🙁

Enjoy Wearing Your Wedding And Engagement Rings, But Take Care

Above all, enjoy wearing your rings, but remember to treat them as the precious objects that they are. Caring for your engagement ring doesn’t take much effort, and you will reap the benefits for years to come. Click here to go to our FAQ page for more information about how you can care for your rings.