How do I clean a cloudy engagement ring?

Three causes account for most cloudy rings, and each has a different fix. A surface film of skin oils, hand cream and product buildup is by far the most common, and the diamond reads grey or hazy rather than bright. A proper warm soapy soak solves it within half an hour. Internal cloud inclusions show as a permanent haze concentrated in part of the stone, often visible against a white background, and cleaning does nothing. Chlorine or chemical damage to the metal shows as a dulling of the band itself rather than the stone, often with patchy discolouration. Working out which one you have decides whether the fix is a soak, a professional service or a settle for life.

If a 30-minute soak and a gentle brush do not lift the cloudiness, the next step is a professional ultrasonic clean. Most jewellers run this in a few minutes and charge somewhere between AU$30 and AU$80, often free with the purchase if booked annually. The ultrasonic reaches behind the stone and under the setting where a brush cannot, and a follow-up steam blast flushes the loosened residue. If the ring is still cloudy after a professional clean, the cause is internal to the stone (cloud inclusions, strong fluorescence haze or, in some lab-grown diamonds, metallic inclusions). At that point no cleaning regime will help, and the question becomes whether to live with it or replace the stone.