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If you’ve been wondering how well your ring might hold up over time, you may have wondered, or worried, about the haze or cloudiness that some stones can take on as a result of age or exposure. Will the same type of thing happen with your ring? You, no doubt, want your Morganite ring to always look as warm, clear, and vibrant as the day you first slipped it on?

Does Morganite get cloudy? Morganite can get cloudy and dull as it accumulates oils and dirt from your daily environment. A careful cleaning should be able to remove that film to restore its color and clarity. Cleaning needs will vary, but If you’re wearing the ring daily, it wouldn’t be unusual to clean it every week or two.

The accumulation of dirt and oils is one path to a cloudy appearance, but there are other ways that Morganite can attract a milky haze. I share more information on what cloudiness is, how to avoid it, and also how to fix it in the paragraphs that follow.

When Good Stones Go Cloudy

Morganite isn’t the only stone that can look cloudy under certain circumstances. It can really happen to any stone—though some tend to cloud faster than others for reasons I’ll explain a little later.

Early Cubic Zirconia is an example of a manufactured stone that commonly clouded with age. Manufacturers went in search of a solution and found stabilizing agents that they were able to incorporate to address the issue. Today, Cubic Zirconia isn’t known for consistently clouding, however, corners may have been cut on some of your cheapest CZ stones (like using less effective stabilizing agents, or skipping them altogether) to save money. On the surface, the purchase price may look attractive, but the clarity of such a stone won’t endure for long. Without the right type and quantity of stabilizers in it, the CZ stone could end up cloudy.

So, why is Morganite any different? Morganite isn’t a manufactured stone—it’s mined from the earth (so no stabilizing agents aren’t added or needed). It’s a naturally stable stone that should not experience clarity changes as the direct result of the passage of time. 

What Makes Morganite Cloudy

There are several primary factors that could cause Morganite to occasionally take on a cloudy appearance over time.

Buildup on the surface of the stone: Again, build up most frequently comes from the natural oils on your skin, as it combines with the dirt that your hands come in contact with every day. Some of that dirt is on things you pick up or touch, and some is simply floating around in the form of dust. It’s pretty unavoidable if you’re wearing your ring regularly.

Hand creams and lotions can be a source of additional oils, speeding the process of build-up. At a minimum, you should remove your ring until any topical treatments have been rubbed in well.

Water can also lead to buildup on the surface of your Moissanite. Most water has dissolved minerals in it. After the water has evaporated and the surface has dried, a coating of minerals can get left behind.

These mineral deposits are commonly referred to as ‘hard water buildup.’ Hard water deposits can obstruct light flow for your ring, which can change its appearance, making it feel more dull and lifeless.

Fortunately, the cloudiness that comes from these forms of buildup is usually temporary. A good cleaning should be able to remove the accumulated residue.

One further risk related to hard water buildup is that any mineral grit that settles on the surface of your ring could potentially cause scratching over time as your ring rubs against materials or objects that cause friction between the mineral grit and your Morganite stone. Carefully cleaning your Morganite ring, on a regular basis, helps to protect your ring from both types of danger.

Contact with harsh chemicals: Certain chemicals could potentially react with Morganite in a way that leaves a white haze on the stone. Depending on the nature of that reaction, the cloudiness could be a temporary inconvenience that just requires a good cleaning…or a permanent marring of the stone.

Because of these risks, it’s best to simply remove your ring before handling chemicals. 

Even diamonds can get damaged through contact with harsh chemicals, so it’s wise to be careful—regardless of the type of stone that your ring contains.

Heavy scratching: When I say heavy scratching, I mean multiple scratches that could eventually combine to block light from entering or moving about the stone. Light flow is a critical component of sparkle.

Scratches are convenient places for dirt and oils to accumulate and hide. The effect of overlapping scratches, combined with the harboring of dirt and oils, can rob your stone of the sparkle it once displayed with ease and abundance.

Yes, Morganite is considered a hard stone, but it’s softer than some alternatives like Sapphire or Diamond. There are things you can do to reclaim your ring and restore its’ original beauty if it gets overly scratched through years of use. I’ll address those potential remedies below.

How to Keep Morganite From Getting Cloudy

My Grandma used to say that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It essentially means that a little precaution is a lot less expensive (and painful) than the effort to fix something once it’s broken.

In this section, we’ll focus on simple things you can do to protect your ring (prevention). In the next section, we’ll talk about the things you can do to reclaim (cure) a cloudy ring. Grandma’s wisdom is certainly true when it comes to Morganite care as well—it makes a lot more sense to focus our effort and attention on preventing damage, rather than correcting it. 

The easiest way to protect your ring from damage, is simply to remove it before doing, or handling, things that could potentially harm it. That may sound easy, but it’s often not top-of-mind or convenient. This simple solution takes awareness and discipline.

Remove Your Ring Before…

  • Yardwork
  • Engaging in some hobbies or recreation
  • Cleaning with chemicals
  • Showering
  • Washing Hands
  • Swimming
  • Using hand lotion
  • Applying hand sanitizer
  • Etc.

“Etc.” ends that list, because it’s impossible to make a list that covers every potential risk or scenario—individual interests and circumstances vary a lot!

If you need to remove your ring for long periods of time (as you travel abroad for example) it might make sense to get an inexpensive alternate ring to wear instead of risking potential damage to your Morganite ring. Beautiful rings with a Cubic Zirconia center stone, for example, can often be purchased for $100 or less.

You can wear your ‘alternate ring’ when it’s simply too dangerous to risk wearing your Morganite. Here’s an example of an inexpensive ring that might work well for this type of application. Here’s another good example.

Some people really struggle, emotionally, with the idea of removing their ring—even for a little while. They may feel like they’re breaking a commitment to their partner, or they don’t want to unintentionally send a signal that they might be ‘available’. Some people are also just more comfortable with a ring on their ring finger after years of wearing one. An inexpensive alternative ring is a great, and affordable, solution for all of those circumstances.

Finally, Clean your Morganite regularly to keep it looking its best—and to clear away any grit or residue that could potentially lead to scratching. I’ll talk about HOW to safely and effectively clean a Morganite ring in a moment.

Fixing a Cloudy Morganite Ring

Again, when Morganite starts to take on a cloudy appearance, it’s typically because the ring is dirty, or because of heavy scratching. I’ll address effective methods for cleaning your Morganite ring in the next section.

If scratches are causing a cloudy appearance, you’ll need to have a jeweler repolish the stone for you. The polishing process will make your Morganite look like new again—but be aware that the stone will be slightly smaller after the procedure. You probably won’t be able to visibly notice a size difference, but if you repolish too many times, the stone may no longer fit in its original setting. If that eventually happens, you might need to get a replacement stone…or buy a new band with a smaller setting that fits the new size of your original stone a little better.

Typically, repolishing is only done a time or two over the life of a particular stone. If that’s the case for your ring, you likely won’t have any issues with the stone no longer fitting securely in its original setting.

How to Clean a Cloudy Morganite Ring

The simple use of warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft toothbrush can work wonders! I like this method best because it’s simple, gentle, and inexpensive.

Morganite can be temperature sensitive, so you want to avoid extremes. Moving a Morganite stone from a hot state to a cold state too quickly (or vice versa) could actually cause it to crack. Warm water is a safe middle ground.

Start by dipping a soft infant toothbrush in your bowl of soapy water. Gently scrub your Morganite with the bristles of the soft toothbrush, ensuring that you thoroughly work around each prong and the underside of the stone if it’s accessible.

Infant toothbrushes can often be purchased at a dollar store in many areas. If you don’t live near a dollar store, you’ll likely still be able to find them for only a little more elsewhere.

After cleaning the stone to your satisfaction, rinse it well in warm, or cool, water, and then dab, or blot, it dry with a soft towel.

The final step is to use the cool setting on a hairdryer to fully dry all the cracks and crevices that the towel can’t reach.

As a slight variation on the simple process described above, some have found that adding just a little vinegar to the soap and water mixture described above, seems to help cut through the grime better—and keep their ring clean longer—than soap and water alone.

Vinegar can be a very effective cleaning agent, in fact, many families that favor more natural cleaning products use diluted vinegar, instead of chemical-based spray cleaners, to clean their house.

As a final word of caution, be careful about how you clean your Morganite. If you use diamond cleaner—or a variety of other chemical solutions, you might just damage your ring.

Morganite is softer and more porous than diamonds, Sapphires, and rubies. Some of the cleaners that may be safe and effective for other gems, could potentially harm Morganite. Safe, simple, and effective is best. Warm water and mild dish soap is a good balance of all three.

In Summary

Morganite is a stable stone that won’t go cloudy as a result of age alone. Getting dirty, collecting a heavy covering of overlapping scratches, or a chemical reaction are the most likely causes of Morganite clouding. Fortunately, most of those issues are correctable. A good cleaning or re-polishing the stone can make most Morganite look good as new.

If you take precautions with your Morganite ring, it should look as beautiful as the day you got it for many years!

Related Posts:

Are Morganite Rings Durable? How Long Can They Last?

Can Morganite Get Wet? The Main Dangers & Key Precautions

Are Morganite Rings Expensive? Cost Per Carat vs Diamond