The Guide to Caring for Your Wedding and Engagement Rings

In most ancient cultures, a ring signified eternity, something that goes on uninterrupted, and is meant to remain unbroken. In Egypt, to give a ring to a woman, meant to gift her with immortal love. In Rome, a ring was a symbol of ownership, a way to claim your soulmate as your own. The traditions have changed and shifted slightly, but the heart of it remains the same – a ring is a sign of commitment and deep love. It’s something we don’t take lightly, something that is meant to last and remain a symbol of a strong, lasting relationship. Are your rings important to you? Then you must care for them gently, and we’re here to explain how to make sure they last a very long time.

Keep it clean

Given the fact that most of us wear our ring on a daily basis, and that we use our hands more than any other part of our body, dirt and bacteria are a common problem. The sweat and the grease from our hand lotions are also an issue, so clean them whenever you notice that the shine is dulled. Mild dishwashing liquid and warm water work like a charm, and you could use an old toothbrush to scrub the dirt off. For your diamond engagement ring, you can soak it in the solution of cold water and ammonia and leave it for half an hour.

Visit your jeweller

Ring maintenance should occasionally be done by professionals, especially if your ring has a precious stone. They can tighten the prongs that keep it attached, polish the ring, and make sure everything stays in place. They can also help fix the ring, if you’ve made a dent in it.

Keep it safe

If you’re going to scrub the floors or the bathroom, take off your ring, or at least wear protective rubber gloves. Chemicals from harsh cleaners can damage it and cause discoloration, so it’s best to put your ring aside. If you don’t like having it apart from you, perhaps you could find a necklace, a thin chain to rest around your neck, and then attach the ring to it whenever you’re working on something that might damage it. Slip it under your shirt, and that way it’ll be protected, and close to your heart.

Insure your ring

Since accidents like theft and accidental loss do happen, insuring diamond engagement rings is a practical idea. Besides, rings tend to be family heirlooms that a lot of people dream of leaving to their children, so they’d have a symbol of closeness and love to remember their parents by. And can you imagine giving it to your child one day so they may propose to the love of their life? Insuring your ring and having laser inscription done give you a chance of tracking the ring down should you lose it, or at least getting monetary compensation if the worse comes to worst.

To insure it, you’ll need to take a picture of it, take the measurements and write down the description, and give it to an independent jeweller to appraise it.

Store it safely

Whenever you need to take your ring off, it’s a good idea to store it a velvet box, or keep it in some other safe place. Have a dedicated place for it in the house so you wouldn’t forget where you’ve put it, and keep it out of reach of children and animals, just in case. If you’re going on vacation and you plan to swim a lot, it’s perhaps the best idea to either leave the ring home, or keep it in the hotel’s safe because vacations are usually where people tend to lose their rings most often, and there’s not much you can do once you get home and realise it’s gone.

Our wedding and engagement rings are the most prized possessions we have. Keep them safe and care for them well, and they’ll continue being the symbol of a good marriage for a long time to come.