Owning a MARQA piece

Care Guide

A lab-grown diamond is every bit as hard as a mined one, and just as capable of collecting the oils and dust of everyday wear. Ten minutes a month keeps a piece looking the way it did in the box.

STEP 1

Prepare the solution

A few drops of mild dish soap in a bowl of warm - not hot - water. Nothing stronger is ever needed.

STEP 2

Soak

Leave the piece for twenty to thirty minutes so the build-up softens and lifts on its own.

STEP 3

Brush gently

Work a soft toothbrush behind the stone, where light enters and where dirt actually collects.

STEP 4

Rinse and dry

Rinse in clean warm water and pat dry with a lint-free cloth. Never rinse over an open drain.

Do

Store each piece separately, in the pouch it arrived in
Put jewellery on last, after perfume and hair products
Clean gently with a soft toothbrush once a month
Bring it in for a professional check once a year

Don't

Wear diamonds while swimming - chlorine attacks the alloy in gold
Use bleach, acetone or abrasive household cleaners
Scrub with anything stiffer than a soft toothbrush
Keep pieces loose together, where they can scratch each other

Why cleaning matters

A diamond's brilliance depends on light entering the stone and coming back out again. A film of hand cream or soap scum on the underside is enough to dull that noticeably - and because it builds up gradually, most people never notice until the piece has been cleaned.

A lab-grown diamond is chemically identical to a mined one and sits at the same 10 on the Mohs scale, so it takes cleaning exactly the same way. The gold around it is the softer material, and the part worth being careful with.

Professional cleaning

Ultrasonic and steam cleaning are safe for a plain diamond-and-gold piece, and we use both in the showroom. Avoid ultrasonic machines at home if a stone is set with adhesive or if the piece includes softer coloured stones - emeralds and opals in particular do not tolerate it.

An annual check matters more than the cleaning itself. It is when a jeweller spots a claw that has lifted, long before a stone is lost.