How to Clean Jewelry Stones

I don’t wear a lot of jewelry, but the pieces I do wear generally stay on me no matter what I am doing: working, gardening, crafting, painting, et cetera.

Keeping my rings on at all times exposes them to all sorts of dirt and dust, as I don’t like wearing gloves, not even when gardening. As a result, the stones lose their shine, and my rings look dull and cheap after a time.

Please don’t judge me by the pictures above: I kept my ring on for a month to get it this disgusting, so I could show the brilliance of this cleaning method. Anyway…back to the subject…

I learned this method back in 2008, when I was completing my advanced scuba diving certification. Many divers clean their face masks with non-gel toothpaste before they dive. It is the best way to clean the glass without scratching, and it is also the best defogger, especially on deep dives to 100 feet or more. Knowing this little trick, and that jewelry stones are harder than glass (according to the Mohs Hardness Scale), I figured trying this method on my jewelry wouldn’t hurt or scratch the stones. I was right!

Here is how I clean the jewelry stone:

First I put a tiny bit of non-gel toothpaste on a very soft toothbrush – the softer the toothbrush, the better, because then you can get into all the little nooks and crannies of your jewelry.

Then, I start brushing my ring.

Brush, brush, brush….

I keep brushing until I get into all the crannies and get rid of all the dirt.

Finally, I rinse my ring with tap water.

If on the first try my jewelry doesn’t get its ultimate shine, I just repeat this process until I am happy with the result.

Here is my clean and shiny ring!

Before I forget, non-gel toothpaste is also a great mirror defogger. If you struggle with foggy mirrors each morning, try cleaning the mirror with toothpaste. It works like charm!

If you have any secret cleaning techniques you swear by, let me know. I would love to hear them!

Handan, xo

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