Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's Ring Rot!

Imagine this: It's just before your wedding day, a time when everyone asks to see your engagement ring, and you can't wear it because you've developed an uncomfortable rash on your ring finger! Well, that was me in the spring of 1998, and I had a case of "ring rot."

I'm sure dermatologists have a fancy Latin name for it, but in the jewelry business, ring rot is what we call a red, itchy sometimes blistered area that occurs on the finger directly under a ring. Although clients often think the ring itself is the cause, perhaps assuming the ring isn't "real gold," the true culprit is moisture.

Ring rot occurs much more often in wider bands and in people who wash their hands a lot. (Nowadays, that's most of us!) But sensitive skin might contract ring rot under even thin bands. Ring rot doesn't discriminate.The Treatment: I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on this blog, but I have had my experiences with ring rot. When you see the symptoms described above, first of all, stop wearing the ring!

No, no, not forever, but until the rash clears up. Do not put the ring back on until the ring rot has cleared up 100%. Not 95%. Not 99%. The area must be completely healed or the ring rot will come right back! Trust me on this.

Prevention: If you have experienced ring rot, then your skin is prone to it. One of the easiest way to prevent it is to take your rings off at night to let your skin breathe. Now yes, I know that some folks feel that after your wedding ring was slid onto your finger at the ceremony it is not to come off again, so that option may not work for you.

And obviously not washing your hands is not an option (unless you like having a perpetual cold!) Try this method that has worked well for me: Wash your hands, then when drying them, scoot your rings slightly toward your knuckle, dry under them, slide them back into place and dry the area near your knuckle.

Resist the urge to take your rings off completely before washing your hands! I have heard too many sad stories about rings accidentally left behind in a public restroom or knocked down the drain when sitting on the sink area at home.

It's been over ten years since that fateful pre-wedding bout of ring rot, so my methods have worked for me, and I'm sure they'll work for you too.If you are reading and thinking "Gee, that's a long article about a little skin rash'" then you, my friend, have never had ring rot!

No Diving, No Horseplay and No Gold in the Pool!

Did you know that your gold jewelry can be weakened or even broken by being in your chlorinated pool? Bleach and chlorine can turn your gold black, and even more importantly, the chemical reaction can actually break down your gold's strength. Depending on how highly chlorinated the pool is, the damage can happen over a long period of time or be nearly instantaneous!

If your gold has tarnished (turned a different color) we can clean it in our store, either by chemicals or by the jeweler using a buffing machine.

If the damage is severe, where the gold jewelry literally has fallen apart (yes, it CAN happen!), in some cases the piece is a total loss! That's serious!

Soooooo, no running around the pool deck, and NO gold in the pool! :)

Jewelry Cleaner Must Be Replaced Periodically

Hopefully, if you're reading this you already have a jar of Jewelry Cleaner from your local independent jeweler... but a little known fact is that over time any jewelry cleaner loses its effectiveness so you may be cleaning your jewelry BUT it's not getting as clean! Bummer!Replace your jewelry cleaner every year to keep your pieces looking their best. This is a simple and affordable way to maximize the beauty of your beloved pieces!

Stacey's dear friend Katie's engagement ring always looks like a million bucks, and that's because every time she takes a shower she cleans her ring! Now I wish I could be that fastidious myself, but it is a fact that more frequest cleaning keeps soap/lotion/dirt/meatloaf from caking up behind your gemstones and reducing their sparkle. (I'm not kidding about the meatloaf, but I wish I was!!)

Most of us, like myself, clean our rings only sporadically because of our hectic lives, so that's why it's so important to have fresh jewelry cleaner to do most of the "work" for us! Cleaner jewelry=more compliments and we all love those!

Do as I say, not as I do- because you do NOT want to see how dirty my diamonds are right now!!

How to Remove a Stuck Ring

We've all done it: Go to try on a friend's new ring and uh oh! It's a little too snug and you get that sort of panicky feeling in the pit of your tummy- is it stuck??

Over my many years in the jewelry business, I have fine-tuned a method for getting most "stuck" rings off.If it is a situation like the one mentioned above, spray the entire finger (front and back) liberally with Windex and slide the ring off. This works wonderfully and does not gunk up your ring like soap or lotion will!

In a more difficult case, say a ring being worn continuously for years that now no longer comes off (because your knuckle has grown, like most people's do!) or when a finger suddenly swells from a big bite on injury, you may want to try my proven method:1) Start in the morning, when your fingers are typically at their smallest.2) Have Windex handy. Fill a large bowl with cold water and lots of ice cubes. Submerge your hand into the water for as long as you can. (Folks with poor circulation or diabetes may want to check with their doctor.)3) Remove your hand from the bowl, quickly saturate the entire finger with Windex, then raise both hands above your head and wiggle the ring to get it off.

If my method doesn't work, in most areas you can go into your local fire station and they will cut it off for you (a relatively easy procedure that sounds scarier than it is!) It's good to be proactive if you can't get the ring off at home. Have it removed BEFORE an emergency makes it a more serious situation!

You would figure that the next logical stop is the jeweler, but I suggest waiting about 3 weeks before taking your ring in to be sized. If it has been on a long time, you most likely have a "ring dent" on your finger which needs to fill in a bit before we can get an accurate size on your finger.I have seen rings that were cut off right through the top (where the diamonds and gallery are!) when emergency personnel have not been able to just slip a ring off the patient's finger. In an emergency situation, they are not going to be worried about preserving the ring- they are trying to preserve your finger! So to avoid this, take care of getting your ring off and resized now, before you're forced to!

Storing Your Silver

Anyone who owns silver jewelry knows that keeping it tarnish free is quite the task. What you save in costs you make up for in cleaning time! Modern pieces often have an industry-approved rhodium plating applied, which prevents tarnishing for the most part. But, for pieces that do not have that coating (and that can be the majority of your collection!) , we recommend storing your sterling silver in ziplock baggies. This prevents air from freely interacting with your silver and decreases the opportunity for tarnish to occur. It also had the added benefit of keeping your pieces from scratching each other, which could cause damage to stones!

Why Did My Gold "Turn"?

Recentlt, a client in my store had a 14kt yellow gold bracelet with a blackened area on it, which reminded me about when gold supposedly "turns."

First of all, when we say that a piece of jewelry "turns", we are really referring to the plating on metal that is in the process of wearing off. Turning can include the visible peeling of the top layer of metal, pitting, different textures on the same area or a green color being present. Real gold, meaning karated gold, does not "turn."

Instead, real gold "tarnishes." Tarnish can (in almost all cases) be cleaned off via sudsy ammonia, Tarn-x or machine buffing by a jeweler.If the tarnish on your genuine gold is orangish in color, it could be a result of hard water in your home, some perfumes, lotions, colognes or hairspray. These are good reasons to always put your jewelry on last before leaving the house!

If the tarnish is blackish in color, it could be a result of contact with bleach or chlorine. Diabetics and highly acid people can also darken the color of real gold.The client I mentioned at the beginning of this post had been cleaning her bathroom with her jewelry on, and clearly bleach had come into contact with it. Just another reason to avoid housework at all costs! Our bench jeweler cleaned and buffed the bracelet back to gleaming like-new, and the lady was thrilled. I love a happy client!

Note: Although in most cases these examples hold true, if you have any question about a piece of jewelry, take it your local independent jeweler for an expert opinion. In most cases, they will gladly tell you free of charge. (If they act grumpy or annoyed, find another jeweler!)