Care

A laboratory-grown diamond is as hard as a natural one, harder than anything else in your jewellery box, which is why it scratches whatever it touches. Gold is the soft part. Almost all of the care below is about the metal.

Cleaning

Warm water, a drop of washing-up liquid, and a soft toothbrush. Brush behind the stones as well as across the front. The underside is where the film that dulls a stone collects. Rinse, and dry with a lint-free cloth rather than tissue.

Once a month is plenty for a piece worn daily. A ring worn while cooking or applying hand cream will want it more often.

What to keep it away from

• Chlorine. It attacks the alloys in 14k and 18k gold over time and can weaken a prong. Take rings off before a pool.
• Household cleaners and bleach. Same reason.
• Hand cream and hairspray. They build a film that makes a stone look grey.
• Ultrasonic cleaners. Fine for a plain band, risky for a pavé set. The vibration can loosen a small stone.

Storing it

Separately. Two pieces in one pouch will scratch each other. The box a piece arrives in is the right place for it.

Bringing it back

Send us a photograph on WhatsApp before doing anything else. A lifted prong caught early is a ten-minute repair. Left alone, you lose the stone. Check a pavé setting by running a fingernail across it every few months; anything that catches wants looking at.