Similarly, another common catalyst to a ring's wear-and-tear is the workplace, where often times you may be engaged in a seemingly harmless activity such as typing on a computer and not realizing that the contact the ring has with the desk or computer case can wear on the ring's metal causing small dents and nicks to the bottom of the shank.

Therefore, being careful with your ring is the number one rule - cleaning comes second. When it comes to cleaning, less is actually more. Avoid all the fancy "jewelry cleaners" and simply place your ring in a warm bowl of water with only a drop of dish washing liquid for about 15-20 minutes. Then take it out and gently damp it with a lent free cloth, preferable one that is made of micro fiber, like the cloth you would use to wipe down your sunglasses. Depending on what metal your jewelry is made out of the rate of wear and tear will be different among the different metals. White gold has a protective coating called Rhodium that makes the gold look shinny and white. When this outer layer wears off your jewelry will lose some of its luster. This is way it is recommended that you bring your ring to a professional jeweler once every 18-24 months to get it professionally cleaned, polished and have them check the security of the prongs to make sure stones haven't loosened.

DreamStone provides professional cleaning services for it's customers for its customer. If you are interested in having your jewelry professionally cleaned, contact one of our representatives at 800-818-8386.

Got more questions? Ask a professional jeweler, here