Before cleaning diamond jewelry, gather up your materials. You will need a small soft brush, such as an eyebrow or lipstick brush, soap/detergent,water, strainer, lint free cloth and a small bowl. Make a warm sudsy water solution in the bowl using the soap/detergent and water. Then, place your diamond jewelry into the solution. Proceed to brush the diamonds as they sit in the soapy solution. After cleaning, rinse the jewelry underneath cool water using a small strainer. Finally, use a lint free or a jewelry polish cloth, to dry and shine your diamonds..

If your diamond jewelry needs a stronger cleaning, the use of ammonia and water may suffice. Using a small half and half solution of ammonia and water, soak your diamond jewelry for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove them from the solution and gently brush each item accordingly. After brushing the item, return it to the bowl. Repeat for the next jewelry item. After all the items have been cleaned and returned to the solution, swish them around for a few seconds then remove them. Proceed to rinse and dry as outlined in the previous paragraph. An alternative to mixing solutions yourself to clean your jewelry, is to purchase an already made jewelry cleaning solution. This could be in the form of a solution kit or a machine, designed to clean jewelry.

Many retailers sell a premixed solution or a jewelry cleaning kit, which contains all of the materials needed for a thorough jewelry cleaning. This would include the solution and drying and polishing cloths. Be certain to read to product information to ensure that the solution you purchase is designed for cleaning the metal and gemstones of your jewelry.

In recent years, we have been introduced to ultrasonic jewelry cleaners. Designed to make jewelry cleaning effortless and efficient, ultrasonic jewelry cleaners use high-frequency to produce a cleaning motion. Many machines come with premixed solution and dry/polishing cloths as well. Some cleanser are even designed to clean not only diamond jewelry, but some watches, and eyeglasses as well. So the ability to be able to use it to clean other accessories is an added bonus for consumers.

Whichever method you choose, it is important to take care of your jewelry by cleaning it regularly. This will ensure that, not only will it keep its brilliance, it can continue to be worn for years to come, becoming a part of the family heirlooms.

If you are in the market for a diamond, don’t let all the industry jargon scare you off. Here’s a little translation on what these terms mean so next time you go into the jewelry store you can speak the same language as the sales clerk!

1. CUT. Not the shape of the stone, but the quality of its facets.
2. CLARITY. Clarity levels start at Flawless and descend from Very Very Slight (VVS) to Very Slight (VS) and Slightly Included (SI). Clarity measures the number of flaws or inclusions in a diamond.
3. CARAT. The weight of a diamond. One carat equals about 200 milligrams.
4. COLOR. Transparent diamonds (those created from 100 percent carbon) are rated on a scale from D (clear) through Z (light yellow). Grade D is the most prestigious, but, because they are so rare, natural diamonds with tints of pink, blue or purple have a cachet all their own.

Not all diamonds come with a certification but you’ll probably want to set your sites on one that does. Make sure yours is certified by a well known laboratory such as the Gemological Institute of America. Going with a well known and respected lab will insure that you are getting exactly what you thought you were getting. It might be cheaper to buy an uncertified diamond or one certified by a “no name” lab but you may not get what you think you are getting!

It is best if you can get some sort of guarantee for your diamond. This indicates that the merchant stands behind their products. This is important especially when shopping on the web since there is no face to face contact.

You probably already know that the diamond is the hardest rock there is. Hardness is measured by something called the Mohs scale where diamonds have the highest spot at number 10. If you’ve ever wondered what this scale is, here’s the lowdown of each step.

1. Easily scratched by a fingernail.
2. Just scratched by a fingernail.
3. Scratches and is scratched by a copper coin.
4. Not scratched by a copper coin and doesn’t scratch.
5. Just scratches glass and is easily scratched by a knife.
6. Easily scratches glass and is just scratched by a file.
7. Not scratched by a file.
8. Scratched only by corundum and diamond.
9. Will scratch anything but a diamond.
10.Scratched only by another diamond.