Congratulations – you just got engaged! Right now you’re full of excitement, ideas, wedding plans, and you probably cannot stop staring at your beautiful engagement ring. You love it, and you love your future spouse, and you love showing off your ring. This is where I come in. Here are the top things that you need to know about taking the best care of your shiny new ring:
Photo by Brandi M. Anderson Photography
1) Get it insured. I cannot stress this enough. If you don’t take any of the other advice in this post, please, please take this to heart. We provide a full written appraisal for each engagement and wedding ring with a detailed description of the design, metal, number of stones, full total carat weight, and other unique details (custom design, original estate or heirloom ring, etc.). We also include a photo and keep a duplicate copy on file, and will gladly update your appraisal as needed. You can add your ring to your renter’s policy, your homeowners’ policy, or purchase a standalone jewelry policy. Your jeweler and your insurance agent will be able to help you with any questions that you have, but make sure that you have your ring insured for loss, theft, and/or damage. No one has ever regretted having it covered, I promise you.
2) Make sure that it’s sized properly. I’ve seen more and more couples come in together during the earlier stages of ring shopping so we often have the correct size on file, but sometimes there’s a little guesswork involved if it’s a complete surprise and we may need to resize the ring after the proposal. Most resizings can be done in one full business day, but if you can’t part with it just yet because you want to share it with friends and family, that’s okay. You can do a couple of things to keep a too-big ring from falling off, like wrapping a bandaid or medical tape around the back or having us add a temporary ring guard. I once created a ring guard from a garbage bag twist tie for a relative who got engaged over the Fourth of July weekend down the shore! However, the sooner it’s sized, the better.
3) Get it checked and cleaned regularly. Think of your engagement ring like a car; you take it in for scheduled oil changes and maintenance, and you should treat your ring similarly. We recommend bringing it by every 6-8 months so that we can make sure that nothing is loose, and we provide a high-pressure steam cleaning any time that you want. We also offer customers a complimentary full polishing right before your wedding so that your engagement ring looks brand new in all of the fun shots that your photographer will take on your wedding day, like this one by Jessica Cooper Photography:
Photo by Jessica Cooper Photography
As for at-home cleaning, this is my advice: Put a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid (like Dawn) in a coffee mug, run hot water into the mug to get it sudsy, drop your ring in, soak for 30-45 minutes, and rinse under a running tap (WITH the drain stopper in, please!). It takes the buildup off, just like soaking a baking pan, and you’ll love how shiny your ring looks. No matter what, do not use a toothbrush or any other kind of brush. It’s possible for the bristles to slide between a prong and a stone and loosen it fractionally, which can then worsen over time.
Taking Care of Your Engagement Ring 101
written by Nicole Fiscia
