Engagement rings gallery

Caring for your engagement ring can be confusing, especially with some of the misinformation and silly myths surrounding this process. If you have a diamond engagement ring, here are a few things you should avoid if you want to keep it safe and as beautiful as the day you received it.

Common Myths About Diamond Engagement Rings

Many women are taught they can care for and clean their diamond engagement rings at home on their own. While these myths may seem as if they can save you both time and money, they can actually cost you more in the long run. Here are a few crazy things some people do to care for their diamond.

•  The Toothpaste Myth - One popular home cleaner is to use toothpaste to clean your engagement ring. This is supposedly done by using toothpaste and a soft bristled tooth brush to scrub the ring and diamond. However, this method can actually cause a lot of damage. Toothpaste is abrasive and may scratch the gold. Depending on what type of toothpaste is used, it can also leave a build up under and around prongs, leaving your beautiful diamond engagement ring looking dingy and lifeless.
• The Myth About Household Cleaners - Some individuals recommend using regular household cleaners like bleach and ammonia to clean rings. While this too may seem harmless, it’s not a good idea. Depending on the other metals in your gold, your ring could actually become pitted or damaged by harsh cleaners. Remember, cleaners contain toxic chemicals and chemicals react to metals.
• The Boiling Water Myth - Another home remedy used sometimes is boiling water. Many believe if they place their jewellery in boiling water it will be cleaned easily and safely. This too is a myth and should be avoided.

Proper Care for Your Diamond Jewellery

Caring for your diamond rings is important. Any form of build up will cause your diamond to lose its natural sparkle. Don’t worry though, it’s just temporary. Cleaning and caring for your jewellery correctly will return the lustre to your diamond. Occasionally using jewellery cleaner or a polishing cloth can shine up your diamond between cleanings, but regular trips to your jeweller are advised. Your jeweller will not only clean your jewellery, but may polish the gold and check the prongs holding your diamond to make sure they are not worn or damaged.

A Few More Mistakes to Avoid with Your Engagement Rings

•  When removing your rings, make sure you do not place them in harms way. Many women take off their rings while they are doing dishes, washing their hands in public places, or performing other tasks. While this may save them from soapy residue, they can easily be lost down a sink drain. If they are taken off in public, you may also lose them or they may be stolen.
• Using ultrasonic cleaning devices is frowned upon by some jewellers. While their powerful vibrations work well for loosening tough dirt, they can also cause your stones to loosen, if they were not secure in the first place
• Try not to wear your rings when you are performing exercises that involve weights, working with tools, or performing other tasks that could damage your ring.

Day to day wear can make your engagement rings worn down and dirty. Instead of relying on home remedies, which can often damage your rings, consider spending the time and money to have them cleaned and repaired at regular intervals.
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When buying a diamond ring, the shape of the diamond is one of the most important elements. Woman can be very picky when it comes to the shape of the diamond on their ring, so make sure to figure out what she likes and doesn’t like prior to making your ring purchase.

Diamond shape is different from diamond cut, though the two are often combined. When a jeweler talks about a brilliant cut diamond, she is talking about the angle at which the diamond is shaped, not whether the diamond is in a round, or square, or oval shape. You’ll often hear “this is a round brilliant cut” which tells you both the shape and the cut of the diamond. While shape isn’t technically one of the 4 c’s, it is just as important if you want your future wife to be happy with her new ring.

Some of the most famous shapes of diamonds include round, princess, emerald, radiant, and heart. You can get other gemstones, like sapphires and rubies, in these shapes as well.

The most popular diamond shapes, when buying an engagement ring for your girlfriend, are:

1. Round cut diamond
2. Princess cut diamond
3. Emerald cut diamond
4. Cushion cut diamond
5. Asscher cut diamond

Number 1, the round cut diamond, is far and away the most popular, since over 70% of diamonds purchased are round shaped. In the 21st century, other diamond shapes are starting to rise in popularity. Princess cut is the second most popular shape, and it is well above the Emerald cut in terms of popularity. Emerald, Cushion, and Asscher are all very close to round out the top 5. Narrowly escaping the top 5 are marquise, heart, radiant, and pear. These are more unique shapes that often cost more due to their lack of market demand.

One of the primary reasons that round diamonds are so popular amongst consumers is that they’ve been around for a very long time. Round diamonds were one of the first shapes created over 100 years ago, so there’s a good amount of history there, and they’ve optimized the forming of the facets of the diamond so that it has the most fire and brilliance of any diamond shape or cut.
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