What chlorine does to a claw
Why the hammam is the hardest place on a ring, and a two-minute habit that helps.
Gold is strong, but it is not indifferent to its surroundings. Chlorine, hot water and steam — the hammam, the pool, the cleaning cupboard — are the three things that age a ring fastest.
Over time chlorine attacks the alloys mixed into gold, and the thinnest parts suffer first. On a solitaire, that means the claws.
What we see at the bench
A weakened claw does not look broken. It looks fine until the day it lifts, and the stone moves. When we check rings at the counter, the first thing we look for is a claw that has thinned or shifted.
“Take it off before the steam room. It is the simplest thing you can do for a ring.”
Bench jeweller, Baghdad
A two-minute habit
If a ring has been in chlorinated water, rinse it in clean, lukewarm water, dry it with a soft cloth and leave it to air before putting it away. Once a month, a soft brush and a drop of mild soap are enough.
And twice a year, bring it to any of our boutiques for a free clean and claw check.