Your hands come in contact with water many times every day. If you want to keep your Morganite ring looking as beautiful and new as the day you got it, you’re probably wondering …
Can Morganite get wet? Water can dull or damage your Morganite ring, especially when exposure is frequent and prolonged. Morganite doesn’t discolor or fall apart as an immediate result of water contact, but regular exposure can have an impact over time. It can cause loss or damage in a variety of ways.
Different types of water can affect Morganite in different ways. In the paragraphs that follow, I’ll explain how water from various sources can potentially cause damage to your ring. I’ll also share information on how you can safely use water to keep your ring looking bright and new.
Protecting your Morganite Ring
The hardness and the toughness of your stone are at the heart of durability. I won’t go into any major detail about either aspect right now, because I have other articles that address each of those areas more deeply.
To quickly summarize, hardness has to do with scratch resistance. The harder a stone is, the less likely it is to get scratched. As scratches accumulate, they can rob a stone of its ability to gather and channel light, making it look old and tired. Diamond is the hardest gem known to man. It has incredible scratch resistance. That doesn’t mean that it CAN’T be scratched, but it isn’t easy for your diamond ring to get scratched up as you go about your daily routine because it’s so hard.
Some stones, like diamonds, are extremely hard, but not equally tough. Toughness has to do with their ability to absorb impacts and pressures without breaking or shattering. Diamonds are so hard that they become brittle. If a diamond falls onto a tile floor, it’s very possible that it will crack or break. I’ve seen it happen. Whether a particular diamond beaks when it falls on a hard surface has to do with a lot of factors (how far did it fall, where was the point of impact, the nature and placement of inclusions, etc). My point is, that hardness isn’t all that matters when it comes to durability.
All rings have to be handled with care. While diamonds are hard, they certainly aren’t indestructible. Protecting your jewelry from damage DOESN’T mean that you have to leave it in your jewelry box constantly. Here are a few simple steps you can take to protect your ring from damage.
- Keep your Morganite ring away from other rings (they can scratch each other if they make contact).
- Be present and aware. Try not to bump or brush against things accidentally as you go about your daily routines.
- Keep the ring away from water as much as possible (take it off first).
We’ll talk about the specific threats that water from different sources can pose in a moment. Before diving into that, I want to quickly point out that some diamond enthusiasts might argue that diamonds are worth their high cost because of their incredible hardness (durability). That has SOME validity on the surface, but there are a couple of important points that should be considered:
- Diamonds also aren’t indestructible.
- You can easily purchase multiple Morganite stones for the cost of one diamond. This means that you probably can’t save money by purchasing a diamond—based on durability logic.
Some might contend that they DON’T WANT a replacement stone (for sentimental reasons). I get that—everyone will need to make their own decisions on this issue. In my mind, a replacement stone from your spouse is just as special as the original stone they provided for your ring. Both symbolize the same commitment, and can do it equally well.
This is all just contemplation of a ‘worst case scenario,’ it’s hypothetical, but again, if your Morganite got damaged at some point, you could buy another (maybe even a stone with better coloring) and STILL save a boat-load of savings over purchasing a diamond center stone instead.
The Dangers of Treated Water: Sinks, Showers, Bathtubs, Hot Tubs & Swimming Pools
The treated water that your hands come in contact with as you shower, wash your hands, or swim, could damage your morganite over time. The biggest risk comes from chemical exposure. Chlorine is added to the water you shower and wash your hands with. It’s also added to most pools and hot tubs to help keep the water sanitary.
Can you wear Morganite in a pool? It’s really not a good idea, but the ring won’t instantly fall apart either. Even diluted Chlorine probably isn’t great for your Morganite stone, but the bigger problem is the impact that Chlorine has on some metals—like gold. Chlorine can attack and eat gold. It frequently weakens the prongs on these rings, causing them to bend or break more easily. That’s not an impact that you’re likely to see right away, it takes repeated exposure over time before any damage will likely be noticed.
The toll that Chlorine takes on gold isn’t visible to the naked eye—it’s microscopic. Because of this, some people believe their ring isn’t being harmed. They may continue believing that until the day they finally lose their center stone because a prong bent or broke. Even then, they may have trouble connecting the loss to water exposure because the damage was so gradual.
A good friend of mine found a large diamond on the floor in an airport. There are lots of potential reasons that prongs holding that diamond may have failed, but I wouldn’t be surprised if damage from repeated water contact was a contributing factor.
In addition to the damage that’s sometimes caused by Chlorine, you can also encounter mineral deposits from hard water that form on the surface of your Morganite. These deposits are simply dissolved minerals that are in our tap water. They get left behind as the water dries. They can leave your stone looking dull and lifeless until it gets cleaned well.
A related risk that can also make your Morganite look dull and muted, is build up from the various soaps, shampoos, and conditioners that we use while showering or washing our hands. It’s a really good idea to remove your ring before bathing, showering, soaking, or washing your hands. Some people really don’t want to take their rings off. They feel like they’re breaking a commitment to continually wear their ring, they’re concerned that they might forget the ring and leave it behind somewhere…or the extra step just sounds inconvenient.
Is it Common to Remove Your Ring Before Showering?
Some feel like it’s overkill to remove their rings before doing common practices like washing their hands, washing dishes, or showering. It’s a polarizing issue. Some habitually remove them, others never do. Which camp are you in? Want to hear how others approach the issue? I published an article recently where I share findings from research that I did on this issue. Take a quick look—you may find the data interesting!
The Dangers of Untreated Water: the Ocean, Lakes, Rivers, & Streams
There’s no Chlorine in lakes, rivers, streams, or the ocean, so what’s the real danger of water in those environments? Simple contact with water won’t cause your stone to fade, crack or break. The common dangers can be quite different for these outdoor water sources in some cases.
Salt: Saltwater can be hard on some ring components. Like Chlorine, it’s especially hard on gold. Repeated exposure can damage your rings over time. Here too, the damage isn’t immediate or visibly noticeable, so it can be unnoticed and overlooked for quite some time. The impact of the damage often comes first in the form of weak or broken prongs. Fragile prongs mean that you could potentially lose your Morganite at some point in the future. Because of those risks, it’s best to remove your ring before jumping in.
Shrinkage: Water can make your ring fit differently for a while. When our hands soak for long periods of time, the diameter of our fingers can change. That happens because our skin starts to shrivel with prolonged exposure, and because cold water causes some temporary shrinkage.
If your ring fits more loosely in the water, there’s a greater chance that your ring could slip off and get lost.
Motion: As you splash and play, rapid movement of water around your stone could potentially loosen the setting.
Outdoor water is also often hard to see through (it’s murky), so you sometimes run the risk of bumping or brushing against something hard, like a rock, a shell—maybe even a watch that someone near you is wearing. That contact could potentially scratch or loosen your Moissanite.
Between poor visibility, silt or sand, and the movement of water, If your stone happens to slip out of its setting while you’re in the water, chances of recovery are slim-to-none.
Spotting: The movement of water in Rivers, Streams, and the Ocean break things down and then move that debris along in a tide or current. Dissolved minerals can dry to form mineral deposits on the surface of your Morganite stone. The deposits only mute the look of your ring until it’s cleaned—but they can also leave a grit on the surface of the ring that could potentially lead to scratches.
How to Make Morganite Sparkle
Over time, the natural oils from your skin can combine with dirt and dust in your everyday environment to create a film that coats the surface of your ring, making it look dull. The film blocks light from entering and moving around inside the ring the way it normally would. Removing the grime isn’t difficult or expensive. All you really need is water, mild dish soap, a soft toothbrush, and a clean towel.
Add a few drops of dish soap to a small bowl of warm water. Dip your soft-bristled toothbrush in the water and then scrub the surface of the Morganite very gently with it. Be careful to get the brustles under the stone and around all prongs as well as possible. When you’re done scrubbing, rinse the ring well, and then dry thoroughly by dabbing carefully with the towel. If possible, it’s a good idea to use a blow dryer on a cool setting to ensure that the ring is fully dry. Without the blow dryer, It can be very difficult to dry the crevices around the prongs and the area beneath your center stone.
In Summary
Morganite can be a wonderful addition to your ring. It’s beautiful, hard enough for daily wear, and distinctive. In order to keep it looking it’s best for the long term, it’s best to avoid contact with water—except when you’re cleaning it. When it does get wet, gently dry it as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
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