Through the years, your ring might need a touch up to keep its luster. Daily wear can expose your ring to all sorts of grime that can build up over time, but have no fear! Here's all the info you need to keep your ring looking as shiny as the first day you saw it!
For any ring with stones or solid bands:
Clean your ring once a month with a soft-bristled toothbrush and a small amount of mild soap in warm (not hot) water.
We recommend using our new Jewelry Cleaning Kit, which contains everything you need to safely clean your special pieces! This kit comes with a bottle of gentle cleanser and a soft bristle brush, safe for cleaning diamonds and sapphires, as well as softer stones, including opals and pearls. You can even use it to clean costume or antique jewelry! The cleaning solution is made of a special blend of bio-based surfactants that coalesce in a foam to efficiently break down the daily buildup of oils and grime and allow them to be easily rinsed away, leaving your jewelry sparkling clean!
For mokume rings:
You can do the same cleaning process as above but you can use hot water and a firmer-bristled toothbrush if you'd like to really clean out the grooves of the ring.
If the silver in your mokume ring is tarnishing you can polish it with this method:
You Will Need: About two cups of hot water, a glass dish, a third of a cup of baking soda, one teaspoon of salt, and aluminum foil.
First, line your glass dish with a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up. Remember to use a new piece of aluminum foil anytime you want to polish your ring. Next, Put your mokume on the aluminum foil and make sure it is making as much contact with the aluminum foil as possible.
Once your mokume ring is on top of the aluminum foil (remember shiny side up!) add the baking soda to the hot water and stir. Once it is dissolved add the salt and stir to combine everything. Slowly start to pour the water, baking soda, and salt solution over your mokume in the aluminum foil lined dish.
If you see bubbles on the ring that means the process is working! Leave everything until the water cools and then remove it and it should look good as new! Just give it a quick rinse to remove any residual baking soda.
How to keep the finish on your ring looking new:
If your ring has a matte finish that is starting to be worn away to look polished you can use a Scotchbrite pad to re-matte it and buff the surface. Be careful not to do this too often because it will wear the ring down over time. We recommend only doing this once a year.
If your ring is polished, you can use a polishing cloth, these can be easily found online and we love them! We often cut them up to make them smaller for single-use too. One thing to note is to keep your polishing cloth in an airtight container as the polishing compound in them will dry up over time. If you use a polishing cloth just be sure to wash your ring in warm soapy water before wearing it again to make sure all of the polishing compound is removed.
Wood and wood inlay rings:
If your ring has wood in it only use cold water and be super careful with it as the inlay is very delicate and should be treated similar to pearls and other soft stones.
An important note about ultrasonic machines or steam cleaning:
Ultrasonic and steam jewelry cleaners will crack or damage some stones. Please be cautious and aware of what stones are in your piece. Diamonds and sapphires are the only stones that are durable enough to handle these types of cleaners. We strongly advise against cleaning any other stones with these methods as they can irreversibly damage the stones.
If you have questions about your specific piece feel free to email us at studio@wrmetalarts.com