9 Times You Shouldn’t Wear Jewelry

Posted on Wednesday, August 14th, 2019 in Guides, Ring Care.


diamond engagement ring

You love your jewelry. We know that. It’s hard not to love something so beautiful and sentimental. But just because you’re completely enamored with your favorite jewelry pieces doesn’t mean you should wear them all the time. After all, you want your jewelry to last for a long time. So that means taking proper care of your pieces, including choosing when to wear them and when to leave them at home. Doing so will ensure you spend less time getting your jewelry repaired and more time enjoying your favorite pieces. These are the nine times you should not wear your jewelry:

  1. Showering. When you shower or bathe with your jewelry on, you risk the chance of your pieces accidentally falling off and disappearing down the drain. It’s also important to note that soap and hard water can leave a residue on your jewelry, making them appear dull. Similarly, showering with your gold or platinum pieces can diminish their shine and showering with your sterling silver jewelry can cause those pieces to tarnish faster. Certain shampoos and conditioners also contain chemicals that can weaken the metal.
  2. Swimming. Whether in the pool or at the beach, you should never swim with your jewelry on. Cold water can cause your fingers to shrink, increasing your chances of accidentally losing a ring. Chlorine can also weaken or damage metal.
  3. Exercising. If you’re planning on lifting weights, rowing, boxing, or doing any other exercise that may be hard on your hands, leave your rings at home. They can become scratched or bent out of shape when they come into contact with hard objects. Wearing a necklace, bracelet, or dangle earrings while exercising is just uncomfortable and you always risk the chance of losing those pieces if they accidentally fall off while you’re moving around a lot. Plus, no one wants their jewelry covered in sweat.
  4. Cleaning. Certain cleaning solutions contain chemicals that can damage the surface of less durable gemstones. These chemicals can also discolor white gold jewelry.
  5. Getting ready in the morning. Makeup, lotion, and hair products can accumulate on your jewelry over time, causing your pieces to appear dull.
  6. Gardening. There are several reasons why you’re going to want to avoid wearing jewelry while you garden. The first is that dirt and other debris can become trapped in settings, making your jewelry appear dirty. And if you think that wearing gloves will protect your rings, you may want to reconsider. Rings can accidentally fall off when removing gloves and the wearer may not notice right away. Another reason to avoid wearing jewelry while you garden is that fertilizers can negatively impact the finish on a jewelry piece. And finally, just like lifting weights while exercising can cause rings to bend out of shape, working with gardening tools can as well.
  7. Cooking. You may not want to think about it but there’s a good chance your ring has a lot of germs on it. Think about all the things your hands come into contact with: public door handles, shopping carts, other people’s hands, etc. You probably don’t want all of those germs coming into contact with the food you’re preparing for your next meal. Raw food can also get caught in the settings of rings and bracelets, trapping bacteria and other contaminants in your jewelry and leading to possible skin irritation.
  8. While at the beach. The sun, sand, and sharks are three reasons why you’re going to want to avoid wearing your jewelry while at the beach. The sun can cause certain gemstones to fade in color. Sand can wear down the metal’s surface. And you risk the chance of attracting sharks while swimming in the ocean with your shiny jewelry.
  9. Sleeping. Prongs can wear down faster if you wear your jewelry while you sleep, especially if you’re someone who tosses and turns a lot. The prongs can also become bent out of shape if caught on a sheet or blanket, making your chances of accidentally losing a gemstone more likely.

We recommend that your jewelry be one of the last things you put on when leaving the house and one of the first things you take off when arriving back home. It’s also a good idea to have a designated place to store your jewelry whenever you’re not wearing it, preferably somewhere far from a drain. That way you’ll always know exactly where your favorite pieces are.

And if you choose to ignore our advice and wear your jewelry during all of the previously listed activities, make sure to bring your pieces in to a jeweler to be professionally cleaned and checked at least once a year so that we can make sure all of your gemstones are nice and secure.