An engagement ring is a special symbol of the strengthening bond between yourself and your partner. Your partner is your best friend, the love of your life, and your forever ally; it’s important to keep your engagement ring clean, strong, and well-maintained to reflect the bridge to eternal commitment throughout your marriage.
If you’re newly engaged and wondering how to properly care for your engagement ring, we have the pro tips you need to ensure that the bond between you and your ring is as strong as that between yourself and your fiancé.
Once you have your engagement ring, your first major responsibility should be to insure it in case anything happens to it. While nothing could replicate the emotional attachment you have with your original engagement ring, an insurance plan can provide you with the money you’d need for a replacement if you lose or damage it.
Sometimes, life gets in the way of protecting your engagement ring, even if you do everything right. The peace of mind that comes with insurance can save you from feeling despair if anything permanently separates you from this sentimental piece of jewelry.
A ring that doesn’t fit your finger properly is easier to lose than one with a snug, secure fit. Ideally, the ring will be the perfect fit immediately due to careful measurements before the proposal. If this isn’t the case, take the ring to a professional, and let them fit it to your precise ring size.
Avoid refitting the ring whenever possible. As you age, you may need to refit it—but multiple refittings will weaken the band’s integrity and could cause it to bend or break.
As you live with the ring on your finger, you may begin to wonder about the hygiene of wearing one piece of jewelry all day, every day. In fact, your ring can act as a magnet for bacteria—especially the ring’s interior. Take care of your engagement ring by washing it at least a few times a year with gentle dish soap and water.
Depending on your profession, you may want to clean your ring more often than that. If you work in the healthcare industry, elementary education, or the food industry, sanitizing your ring may become part of your regular ritual. In general, however, you may just want to remove the ring while working.
Whenever you work with raw meat or eggs, wash off your ring afterward. Your ring can carry the same harmful bacteria you might leave behind on a cutting board or utensil.
In the same vein as knowing when to clean the engagement ring, you should know when to take the ring off and leave it somewhere safe. We’ve covered when to take your engagement ring off in a prior blog post, but as a quick refresher, remember these three key ring-free zones:
While it’s okay to wash your hands with your ring still on, taking a shower with it is risky. Not only can the ring slip off and rinse down the drain, but you can also damage it with the various soaps and shampoos you use.
Harsh soap will damage the precious metal in the ring’s band, and shampoo and conditioner can cause a gunky residue buildup under the gemstone and around the setting. Keep your ring from losing its luster by taking it off before you step into the shower.
Leaving your ring in a gym locker may not sound like the most secure storage option while you work out, but it’s better than keeping your ring on and putting it in danger from sweat and workout equipment. Sweat can leave rings feeling sticky and grimy after an intense exercise routine. Over time, this grimy feeling can turn into corrosion or tarnish.
Also, if you leave the rings on during your time at the gym, various pieces of equipment can break or bend the jewelry. If the ring catches on something while you’re working out, that equipment can endanger your fingers as well. Leaving your engagement ring at home or in a wedding ring holder for the gym will ensure the precious jewelry stays safe while you go hard at your exercise of choice.
Sand, salt water, and precious metals go together about as well as toothpaste and orange juice. Avoid putting your engagement ring in danger of becoming buried or sunken treasure whenever you go to the beach by keeping it someplace safe instead. Saltwater is especially harsh on gold- or silver-plated rings, as the layer of precious metal isn’t enough to deter corrosion. Additionally, your jewelry makes you look like a tasty snack for certain predators in the ocean.
Do you tend to fidget when you’re in public? Is your engagement ring the first object you go to when you need to do something with your hands? If you fidget with or take off your engagement ring when you’re out and about, it could end up anywhere. Placing your engagement ring somewhere in public is much different than placing it somewhere at home—at home, there are only so many places you can look! Removing the ring in public may also catch the eye of sneaky thieves or criminals.
Consider wearing a separate, less expensive piece of jewelry alongside your engagement ring if you fidget. Special rings and accessories for nervous fidgeters can save you from losing your jewelry. If that’s not an option, consider bringing other things to occupy your hands while you’re in public, like hairbands you can mess with around your wrist, a new mobile game, or an activity that you enjoy.
No matter how long you’ve had your engagement ring, knowing some pro tips for how to properly care for your engagement ring will help you keep it as elegant and sparkly as the day you got it. Whenever you doubt whether you should wear your engagement ring, keep it safe in a secure, compact LoveLocker from NeoChara. With our signature magnetic RingLock technology, nothing will open the container until you’re ready to put your ring back on. Upgrade your engagement ring’s security, and keep the ring safe for the rest of your engaged and married life.
