Is soaking valuable diamond/yellow gold jewelery in ammonia bad?
Ayliann asked:
When I take off my rings in the evenings, I drop them into a little cup of pure ammonia. When I put them back on in the morning, they are always sparkling clean. But is keeping them in ammonia so much (like up to 8 hours a day) bad for the diamonds or the gold?
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When I take off my rings in the evenings, I drop them into a little cup of pure ammonia. When I put them back on in the morning, they are always sparkling clean. But is keeping them in ammonia so much (like up to 8 hours a day) bad for the diamonds or the gold?
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keep it in HCL it will shine
Yes, it is very bad.
Ammonia reacts with the alloys in most karat golds (all gold except 24k pure is karated). It can go black or chalky. Ammonia reacts very poorly with the nickel content in white gold. Also avoid hot tub exposure as bromine in the hot tub chemicals is a major problem and can cause the gold to get very brittle.
Do not use HCl, it is used in alloy testing only, and would dissolve organic gems (pearls, amber, coral, jet, etc.) and some stones. Do not use toothpaste, it is abrasive and will take the finish off of organic gems & some gem stones.
Use baking soda & water, or take it to a professional jeweller to be cleaned.
-James S