What Stones are Safe in an Ultrasonic Cleaner and Why?

There's nothing quite like the gleam of freshly cleaned jewelry, but there are times that maintaining that level of cleanliness can feel like more work than it's worth. You put in hours to scrub and polish your most expensive jewelry pieces, but will people even notice? I guarantee that many will.

There must be an easier way to keep those precious stones and metal looking their best without applying endless amounts of elbow grease, right? There absolutely is, and it comes in the form of Simple Shine's Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Kit! Today we'll be covering how and why it works, in addition to some stones that you definitely don't want to leave a machine to handle.

What is included in the Ultrasonic Cleaner Kit?

We have provided all the essentials and the complete kit includes the ultrasonic cleaner, basket, watch / bracelet holder, ring holder, concentrate cleaning solution and owner’s manual. You might want to throw in some anti-tarnish cloth storage bags, but these are mostly accoutrement. While tarnish bags might protect your jewelry while it isn't being used, the ultrasonic cleaner can keep your jewelry looking great even during daily use.

How does it work?

The ultrasonic jewelry cleaning process is truly a marvel of scientific innovation. Water or cleaning solution is agitated using ultrasound as a means of cleaning. Ultrasound consists of sound waves that are outside the human range of hearing. These sound waves create cavitation bubbles which easily lift away contaminants, especially when used in conjuction with the solvent cleaning solution provided.

These cavitation bubbles will penetrate every nook and cranny of the jewelry. This is a fantastic thing, but needs to be used with some caution due these bubble's ability to reach into recesses, cracks, and blind holes. Diamonds are normally an ideal candidate for ultrasonic jewelry cleaning, but if your diamond has a large number of inclusions then an ultrasonic cleaner needs to be used sparingly, if at all.

What stones can't go into an ultrasonic cleaner?

Heavily included stones

As stated above, any stone with significant inclusions might be damaged in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. While the gemstone might not break immediately, it is almost a certainty that the inclusions will get worse as the bubbles attempt to work their way in. The vast majority of diamonds sold as jewelry don't have enough inclusions to put them at risk, but it is something to be aware of.

Brittle stones

Brittle stones don't work well in an ultrasonic cleaner either. Brittle stones include opals, onyx, emeralds, turquoise, lapis lazuli. The vibrations can cause the stone to crack, and once the bubbles work into said crack that gem is inevitably going to break. I would highly recommend never putting a brittle stone into an ultrasonic cleaner, as even one round can be enough to cause significant damage. The time saved simply isn't worth the money lost in most cases.

Soft stones

Opal, onyx, emeralds, and turquoise were mentioned above already but there are a few more stones that should stay far away from an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. You can add pearls, amber, and coral to the list. These are all actually organic materials which means they have nowhere near the kind of durability that is needed to survive an ultrasonic cleaning. Not even once. Organic materials will be eaten away the first time through, without fail.

Treated gems

A large number of gems like rubies or diamonds might have been color treated in order to make them look more even. Fortunately or unfortunately an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner will let the truth be known as that treatment is stripped away just like any other foreign material. It can be disheartening to discover this on your own, but if you are dealing with a reputable jewelry dealer they will let you know exactly what treatments the gem you've chosen has undergone.

Is all metal safe for ultrasonic cleaning?

That's a good chunk of gems that should stay out of the ultrasonic cleaner, but surely metals are more durable? Well, more durable is accurate but there are exceptions to any rule. The only metal that shouldn't be cleaned in this way is tungsten jewelry. Intense agitation and vibration can cause tiny fractures that affect the integrity of this metal. You shouldn't need to worry about this situation regardless, as tungsten is a fantastically low-maintenance metal that doesn't corrode, fade, or tarnish.

What can I clean aside from jewelry?

Anything made of glass, plastic, ceramic, or aluminum is safe to take an ultrasonic bath. Engine parts and electronic parts will be safe, so will your watch or eyeglasses. You've never truly seen until you've viewed the world through glass that has undergone ultrasonic cleansing! The list is of industries that utilize ultrasonic cleaning is absolutely gigantic.

Any industry that needs to clean things that are too small for the human eye and requires a degree of precision. Medical implements are cleaned with ultrasonic cleaning, disk drive components also go through this treatment. The automotive industry, printing, pharmaceutical, electroplating, marine, and even weapon industries also benefit endlessly from the miracle of ultrasonic cleaning.

Warranty and Refund Information

With your purchase of our ultrasonic jewelry cleaner, enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a one year warranty for absolutely no extra charge. We do not want you to experience any problems and will always go above and beyond to keep our customers happy, because you are our life blood. Keeping that in mind, if you aren't 100% satisfied for any reason at all we offer a full money-back guarantee. We are confident that you won't regret the purchase.