How to care for your diamond

As it's New Year's Day, I'm taking the day off of writing but since one of my personal New Year's Resolutions is to take care of what I have better I thought I'd post this information on how to take care of diamonds. (because another resolution is to buy quality over quantity and I'd rather have one great piece of jewelry than alot of cheaper pieces.)

A diamond is the hardest substance most people will ever own. Even though they are very tough, strong and sturdy, however, a diamond can still fracture, break and chip. When someone owns diamond jewelry they will need to take special steps to keep it looking its very best.
Diamonds are cut and polished by highly-trained professionals who work to enhance the natural beauty of each stone. A diamond is graded according to its cut, clarity, color and carat size, but these issues end up having very little to do with how the diamond appears after it has been worn many times.
Naturally occurring body oils, skin care lotions, everyday dirt and grime and materials encountered when gardening, doing housework or participating in sports or other activities can all take a toll on a diamond.
There are several ways that a diamond owner can clean their stones, but the primary concern should always be the stability of the stone within its setting, and the safety of the other gems or stones during the cleansing process.
Most jewelry experts would recommend that all diamonds are cleaned at least once each year. This is best done in a mild detergent bath or in a cold water soak. The mild detergent bath contains a 50/50 mix of warm water and liquid detergent. The jewelry is placed in the solution and allowed to soak for several minutes, and then it is gently scrubbed with an extremely soft toothbrush before being rinsed and dried with a soft, lint-free cloth.
The cold water soak uses a 50/50 solution of ammonia and water. The diamond jewelry is soaked for thirty minutes, gently brushed with a super-soft toothbrush and then rinsed and dried in the same manner used for the detergent bath.
While there are many “dip” varieties of jewelry cleaners available, some of them can be very caustic and harmful to softer stones and even certain jewelry glues. For this reason it is best to avoid them if a piece appears particularly vulnerable.