Diamond is the hardest known natural material on Earth. Diamonds sit at the top of the Mohs scale of hardness, and are fifty-eight times harder than the next hardest material, corundum. However, diamonds are not completely immune to breakages or scratches. Careful and correct care of your diamond jewellery can ensure that you can cherish it for years to come.
Storage
Diamonds can be scratched by other diamonds. In fact, many diamonds have their girdles shaped by abrasion with another diamond during their manufacture (a process known as bruting).
It is important to store any diamond jewellery carefully. Diamond set jewellery should be stored away from other pieces to avoid any surface scratches that could affect the sparkle of the gemstone. A fabric lined jewellery box with separate compartments is ideal, or even an individual ring box can ensure that no accidental scratches occur whilst in storage.
Avoid Hard Knocks
Despite their reputation as the hardest material on earth, diamonds are relatively brittle. Diamonds are formed in a cubic structure, and there are certain directions of the crystal lattice that are weaker than others.
This directional hardness means that diamonds can cleave, chip, or break if they are knocked or hit hard enough in the right direction. Therefore, it is best to avoid wearing your diamond jewellery if you are attempting any high impact activities such as decorating, DIY, or contact sports, especially if your diamond is in a raised setting.
Avoid Contact with Household Cleaning Products
Keeping diamonds away from potentially harmful chemicals sounds obvious, however it is easy to forget when cleaning. The chemicals within household cleaning products can affect the colour of diamonds, so it is wise to remove diamond jewellery before cleaning, or wear rubber gloves.
Regularly Check Jewellery
It is recommended to regularly check your diamond jewellery. Regular wear of diamond jewellery can affect the stability of the setting! It is advised that you take your pieces to one of our boutiques to check the condition annually.
It is worth personally checking the diamond’s setting more frequently than this, to include the claws, bezel settings and any clasps. Monitor the metal setting for any wear or discolouration. Also, check the diamond for any unusual movement within the setting itself, this could indicate that the piece needs looking at by one of our jewellers.
Insure your Diamond Jewellery
We highly recommend that you insure your diamond jewellery to protect it against accidental loss, damage and theft. We offer the choice of either one or three year insurance plans with all new purchases through T H March which helps to give buyers a peace of mind. To read more about our insurance offering, click here.
Contact our team of diamond jewellery experts for more advice, or to discuss our 0% interest free finance and insurance options available on all new purchases, call us on 01335 453 453 or email us at sales@britishdiamondcompany.com.