5 Times You Didn’t Realise You Should Take Off Your Ring

They say diamonds are forever, and that’s certainly true — as long as you look after them properly. When you receive a new ring, you’ll never want to take it off. Especially if it’s a heartfelt engagement ring or meaningful eternity ring. But keeping your ring on your finger constantly will cause it to wear down and look tired over time.

To keep your precious jewellery looking its best, here are five times you should take it off, some of which you probably never even thought about

Using hand sanitiser

Now more than ever we’re aware of how often we have to wash our hands. But did you know hand sanitiser can gradually damage your ring?

The chemicals in the gel react with the metals and can deteriorate the look of your ring. The finish on white gold wears down faster and rose gold rings can develop a tarnished layer when frequently exposed to hand sanitiser. Yellow gold and platinum rings are the least susceptible, but it’s still worth removing them to keep them in good condition.

Washing your hands

Regular hand washing can also cause soap buildup between gemstones and dull its previously iridescent shine. Special moisturising soaps contain ingredients designed to keep your hands wonderfully soft, but they can cover diamonds in a thin film that hides their sparkle. After several months of washing, there’ll be so many layers of build up, your diamond could almost look cloudy.

Washing up

One of the biggest risks of wearing your ring while washing up is that it might fall down the sink. But that should only really happen if your ring is too big. We offer a free 90-day ring resizing service, so you never need to worry about this happening to you.

But the other way washing up can damage your ring is if you live in a hard water area. The high levels of minerals in hard water can easily dull the shine of your ring, making it look old before its time. We suggest removing your ring every time you wash up, or putting on a pair of washing up gloves to protect it.

Baking and cooking

Whenever you’re planning on getting your hands really messy in the kitchen, it’s a good idea to remove your ring. Whether you’re kneading pizza dough, shaping meatballs or rolling biscuit dough, taking off your ring when there’s a chance little bits of food will get stuck between the gemstones or inside the intricate design is always a smart move.

Doing house work

Some metals are tougher than others, but that doesn’t mean they’re indestructible. Even though platinum is one of the strongest jewellery metals, if you’ve got a platinum ring and you bash it enough while doing housework, the metal will begin to bend and become dented.

Whenever you’re gardening, deep-cleaning your house or moving furniture, take off your ring and keep it somewhere safe until the hard work is over.

It’s never too late

Thankfully, if you’ve harmed your ring with above habits, the damage can be reversed with a little TLC. If you are guilty of any of the previously mentioned practices, we recommend giving your ring a good, thorough clean as soon as you can then remembering to take it off if you’re ever doing anything really hands-on.