On Sat, 06 Nov 2010 02:01:13 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry
wrote:


Suzie,

I'm a gem cutter, and what I use to clean jewelry is Super Glue
Solvent. But if the ring has been worn for a long time, then it's best
to just have the stone removed from the setting and cleaned using the
SG Solvent and a paper towel. I cleaned one diamond ring for a woman
by doing exactly that. When she first gave me the ring to clean, she
didn't want the diamond any longer before it looked really bad. After
it was cleaned though, she changed her mind rather quickly.

Dan Starr

Super glue solvent is essentially acetone. That's a great grease cutter if that
is the sort of thing one needs to clean. But not as effective on things like
the gunked up mix of dead skin, oils, soaps, lotions, and whatever else gets
packed under the stones in a ring.

Also, be aware that acetone, as with many organic solvents, presents
carcinogenic risks. Use only with good ventillation.

Remove the stone from the ring to clean it? Are you nuts? Totally unnecessary.
In 36 years as a commercial goldsmith and jeweler, I cannot recall ever having
to remove a stone just for cleaning purposes unless it was in a totally sealed
bezel which had allowed something underneath. And I can remember only two of
those, both antique rose cuts where the visible metal behind them needed
polishing as well as cleaning.. Normally though, too much work,and can damage
the mounting causing more headache when it's time to reset the stone. Almost
any jeweler who's capable of competently removing and resetting a stone likely
also has access to an ultrasonic cleaner and/or steam cleaner, which make
extreme measures even less needed. But even without those, it's simply not
required. Acetone is great for precleaning a stone or metal to get it clean
enough for really good glue joints, or for removing light grease, oils, nail
polish, etc. But normally, it simply isn't the best way to clean a ring or a
stone if it's got more than a bit of skin oils on it. It does have one other
very good use that one sometimes encounters. Some ladies use products like hair
spray, which amount to a lacquer like product. If that gets on the back of a
stone or into a ring, it's hard to remove via normal cleaning methods. For
that, or to clean up old super glue or nail polish or some paints, Acetone is a
very good choice. But for normal diamond jewelry cleaning, Use a good strong
detergent (something like Mr. Clean or Top Job liquid cleaners) with a bit of
ammonia, in hot or boiling water, as discussed in other posts in this thread,
and you can get virtually anything clean that any ring will pick up in use. You
really don't need to remove the stones to do it.

Peter Rowe