When to Take Your Engagement Ring Off

As one of the most significant and sentimental pieces of jewelry you’re likely to own, taking care of your engagement ring so it stays as clean and beautiful as possible is incredibly important. Once you’re engaged, it may be tempting to wear your ring all the time to showcase its beauty. However, there are times when it’s wise to take your ring off to avoid damaging it.

When NOT to Wear Your Engagement Ring

1. At the Gym

This is one place where you definitely shouldn’t wear your engagement ring. Imagine doing a bench press at the gym only to sit up and realize the barbell bent your ring and caused some of the delicate diamonds to fall out. Or maybe you’re running on the treadmill and don’t notice that your ring has slipped off your finger during the workout. In fact, you don’t notice until you’ve gotten home from the gym and can’t find your ring.

If you’re going to the gym, it’s best to leave your ring at home. If you’d prefer to have a ring on when working out, we recommend purchasing a silicone band to wear instead.

2. In Hot Tubs and Pools

You’ll want to keep your engagement ring as far away as possible from the chlorine inside hot tubs and pools. Chlorine is a harsh chemical that can wreak havoc on the gold or platinum band of your engagement ring, discoloring these metals or even causing them to corrode and deteriorate. This deterioration can cause the stones set in your engagement ring to fall out because chlorine will damage the prongs that hold them in place.

Chlorine can damage the stones set in your engagement ring as well, depending on the gemstone. Diamonds can lose some of their brilliance and appear duller after exposed to chlorine. Similarly, chlorine can also damage stones like pearls and opals.

Not only is chlorine a concern for your ring, though. Pools and hot tubs increase the risk of your ring falling off and getting lost once your hands get wet from the water. We know you don’t want a relaxing outing at the pool to turn into a panicked scramble to find your lost ring, so don’t take the chance and take it off before getting into the water.

3. In the Ocean, Lakes, and Rivers

Speaking of keeping your ring out of the water, you should never wear expensive jewelry in the ocean, lakes, or rivers. It’s incredibly easy to lose your engagement ring in a large body of water, and it may be impossible to find if you lose it. You may remember Kim Kardashian’s infamous diamond earring, which she lost after it fell from her ear and into the ocean. We recommend not making the same mistake and instead taking your engagement ring off before getting in the water.

In fact, it may be a good idea to leave your ring at home entirely. Sand, dirt, and small rocks along the beach of an ocean, the bank of a river, and the shore of a lake can be hazardous to your ring as they can get trapped into tiny spaces in your engagement ring and are difficult to remove and clean.

4. Using Sunscreen, Lotions, Bug Spray, Hair Care/Shower Products, Etc.

It’s a good idea to remove your engagement ring whenever applying creams and lotions to keep the stone as sparkly as possible. Residue from these products can coat your ring’s stones, causing your diamond to appear cloudy. These products can also get stuck in the small spaces in your ring.

5. Cleaning

Cleaning can expose your ring to several chemicals that can discolor or damage the metal and stones of your ring. It’s best to take your jewelry off when handling these chemicals. Bleach is particularly harmful to your ring, and can wear away gold, making your ring more prone to damage and the stones mounted in it more prone to falling out.

6. Applying Hand Sanitizer

We recommend taking off your engagement ring when using hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer creates a film on your jewelry that can make the metal and your diamond appear duller. Hand sanitizer can also discolor and damage gemstones like opals and pearls.

Additionally, if your ring is made from white gold, hand sanitizer can cause the rhodium plating to wear off faster.

7. Gardening, Painting, or Doing Other Home Improvement Projects

While we’re doing projects outside and around the house quite often, it’s important to remember to take off your engagement ring before starting them. These activities put your ring at risk of becoming dirty or damaged. There have been numerous times when a customer has walked into our store with ink, epoxy, dirt and small rocks, paint, and other substances covering their ring. These substances can be extremely difficult to remove, so we recommend that you avoid exposing your ring to them altogether.

When deciding whether or not you should wear your engagement ring, a good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether what you’re doing has the chance to damage your ring or get it dirty. Taking care of your engagement ring is incredibly important so you can continue cherishing it for many years to come.

Looking to buy an engagement ring? We’ve got you covered.

Shop hundreds of engagement rings, solitaires, and semi-mounts in our stores and online! We guarantee we’ll have something you’ll love.

Plus, we’re currently running a promotion where you can get $100 Necker’s Cash towards your in-store engagement ring purchase. For more details, see our Earn $100 Necker’s Cash Towards Your Engagement Ring Purchase blog post.