Looking after your engagement ring

Have you recently said yes and now entering the exciting newly engaged part of your wedding story journey? It can be hard to adjust to having a new sparkly engagement ring on your finger especially if you haven’t really worn a lot of jewellery before hand, we share our top tips for looking after your engagement ring, so it stays as sparkly as the first time your love placed it upon your finger.

• Keep it in a safe place when you aren’t wearing it
• Take out insurance to protect against loss, damage or theft
• Clean your ring regularly
• Consider removing it before certain activities

Congratulations on your engagement!

Congratulations you’ve found the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with and are about to embark on one of the most exciting journeys in your relationship. So, as you sit and admire your ring, we’d love to share some history behind engagement rings with you and the top tips for looking after your engagement ring.

How can I keep my engagement ring safe?

Although you can’t bear the thought of parting with your ring, there will be some occasions when you have to remove it from your finger in order to keep it safe. Looking after your engagement ring properly involves placing it within a soft cloth in a ring box when you are not wearing it. You should aim to remove it whilst you sleep and when dressing or undressing to avoid the prongs catching on the material. Neil from Angelic Diamonds highly recommends you take out insurance for your engagement ring as it can be one of the third biggest life purchases after buying a house or car.

Wedition Hot Tip: Consider engraving a jewellery box with your wedding date and initials so whenever you take the ring off you are reminded of your special day.

Wedition Fun Fact: Originally jewellery was stored in decorated boxes or caskets during ancient Egyptian times to keep precious items safe for the afterlife. It wasn’t until the Victorian era that fine jewellery became more affordable and jewellery boxes became smaller to take up less space.

Real Wedition Wedding: Emily and Kieren shared the story of their rings within their Wedition. Emily’s engagement ring was made by Kieren’s Aunty Netty. Netty, Kieren and Emily designed the ring together on a sunny afternoon at her incredible shop in Frome, after being greeted at the front counter by Lucca the dog. Additionally, Netty made the wedding bands for both Kieren and Emily! Netty is a uniquely talented lady.

Keeping your engagement ring sparkly clean

It’s a good idea to take your engagement and wedding rings to a jeweller every two years to check for any cracks or loose stones. Of course, over time whilst looking after your engagement ring you will need to clean it. Avoid using cleaning chemicals, abrasive liquids or alcoholic beverage (if you are using cleaning products for another purpose remove your ring first). Using any of the previous liquids leaves a sticky residue and attracts more dirt. Instead take a jug of warm water and add a dash of washing up liquid. Soak your diamond engagement ring and an old toothbrush in the water until cool. Using the toothbrush dab at the ring and dry off using a lint free cloth. Pearl, or a softer stone, should be treated even more carefully and avoid contact with anything abrasive or chemical. If you are not totally confident at cleaning your engagement ring then you should take it to a professional to clean and look over it once a year.

Wedition Hot Tip: Avoid applying lotions, creams, hairsprays or other cosmetics when wearing your jewellery.

Did you know? The history of exchanging rings dates back to ancient Egypt when Egyptians exchanged circular rings made from braided reeds to be placed on their left-hand ring finger. Symbolising eternity and being on the vena amoris which runs directly to the heart, Egyptians started off the tradition that we carry on to this day.

Real Wedition Wedding: Naomi and James included not just the story of their proposal within their Wedition, but also the story of how Naomi unwittingly choose the diamond for her ring without even realising whilst on holiday in Dubai! The diamond was then bought home and James played a large part in the design of the engagement ring before romantically proposing to Naomi on Brancaster beach, one of their favourite places to visit.

Taking extra care of your engagement ring

With one of your prized possessions and symbolism of your relationship and approaching wedding sat on your finger, you can feel a little overwhelmed and not even realise that the activities you used to do on a daily basis without thinking could now damage your engagement ring. Angelic Diamonds, our jewellery experts, recommend that you don’t wear your engagement ring whilst doing heavy handwork, washing up, gardening or exercise. When bathing, washing your hands and swimming you should remove your ring to avoid damage. Exerting force on your ring, even from wearing rings on both hands and clapping, can loosen and cause stones, including diamonds, to crack.

Real Wedition Wedding: Wedition couple Rose and Jason included their proposal story within their Wedition. Jason had told Rose that his work were running a photo competition, whilst on a walk in Woburn Safari Park, a 'photo opportunity' arose and he set up the camera. Unbeknown to Rose, this was so he could capture the very moment the proposal took place!

More information on the history of wedding rings

If you would like to find out more about the history and significance of wedding rings, take a look at the Wedblog post here.

Caring for your engagement ring video