How to Clean Diamond Earrings at Home: Backs and All

To clean diamond earrings at home, take the backs off and soak the earrings and backs for 20 to 30 minutes in a small bowl of warm water with a few drops of plain dish soap. Then brush the underside of each diamond with a soft toothbrush, rinse in a second bowl of clean water and dry them on a lint-free cloth. That covers most solid gold or platinum studs, and it matches the basic approach that GIA and The Diamond Collective both describe. Earrings differ from a ring because of what sits behind the stone. Posts, threads and friction backs collect build-up that a ring never sees, and they are also the parts most likely to go missing while you clean.

Why diamond earrings go dull so quickly

A diamond sparkles when light enters through the top, bounces off the facets underneath and comes back out. Once a film of oil coats the pavilion (the pointed underside), less light makes that trip. The stone then looks grey and flat, however good its cut grade.

Earrings pick up that film from sources a ring mostly avoids:

• hairspray, dry shampoo and styling products that drift down onto the ear
• face cream, sunscreen and makeup, which you put on right next to the setting
• natural oil from the earlobe, which works along the post and into the basket behind the stone
• pillow contact if you sleep in them, which presses all of the above into the prongs

The Diamond Collective's How to Clean Diamond Jewelry guide lists lotions, creams, perfume, sunscreen and hairspray as things to keep off diamond jewellery. (The old naturaldiamonds.com address now redirects to that site.) One easy habit helps a lot: put your earrings in last, after your products have dried.

The safe home method, step by step

This is the routine I'd give any customer with diamond studs, drops or small hoops in gold or platinum.

1. Work over a bowl, not the sink. GIA's Holiday Buying Guide: How to Clean Jewelry (2015) says: "Try to not clean your jewelry too close to an open drain in the sink." An earring back is about the size of a grain of rice. Put the plug in or use two small bowls.
2. Separate the backs from the earrings. If you clean them assembled, grime stays trapped exactly where the back meets the post.
3. Soak in warm, soapy water. Use a few drops of basic dish soap with no added moisturisers or bleach. The Diamond Collective recommends "warm water (tepid, not boiling)" and a soak of 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Brush the underside. Use a soft, new toothbrush that you keep only for jewellery. Spend most of your time behind the stone and around the base of each prong, because that is where the film builds up. GIA's How to Protect Your Diamond Engagement Ring (2017) gives the same basic advice: clean the diamond "with warm water, mild soap and a soft toothbrush."
5. Clean the posts and backs separately. Brush along the post, and on screw backs run the bristles along the threads. Friction backs (the butterfly type) have two small curls of metal that grip the post. Flush water through them and brush the inside.
6. Rinse in a second bowl of clean water. Soap left on the pavilion dulls the stone almost as much as the original oil.
7. Dry with a lint-free cloth. Pat rather than rub. A cloth fibre can catch on a raised prong tip and bend it.

For a quick refresh between proper cleans, GIA's 2015 guide says: "Regardless of the gemstone or metal type, it is always safe to use a soft cloth to wipe away the dust and oils."

What about ammonia?

GIA's 2015 cleaning guide says "it is safe to clean most diamond jewelry with a mild solution containing ammonia." It cuts heavy grease well. Plain dish soap gets most studs clean, though, so I only use a dilute ammonia solution when a soap soak hasn't done the job. Skip it entirely if the earring has pearls, coral, turquoise or any other porous material. The same GIA guide says those "should always be kept away from any chemicals."

Methods compared: what is worth doing at home

The cheap method really is the right one for most people. An ultrasonic machine is optional, not an upgrade you need.

Ultrasonic and steam: where the sources disagree

Ultrasonic cleaners shake dirt loose with high-frequency vibration in a liquid bath. They reach the gallery under a halo stud well. They are also the riskiest thing most people do to their jewellery at home.

GIA's article Gems and Ultrasonic Cleaners (2015) explains why: "The vibration generated by an ultrasonic cleaner can sometimes shake gems loose or cause damage if gems are set with their girdles touching." Halo and cluster earrings often have exactly that, with small diamonds set edge to edge. A prong that was already slightly lifted can give way in the bath. With earrings, you may not notice the missing stone until days later.

The same GIA article lists gems that should stay out of ultrasonic baths entirely, including pearls, opal, emerald, tanzanite, moonstone and turquoise. If your earrings mix diamonds with any of these, use soap and water only.

On steam, the sources don't agree. The Diamond Collective describes steam cleaning as an option at home. GIA's 2017 engagement ring article says: "Don't use abrasive household cleaners, or steam cleaners." For home use I side with GIA. Sudden heat on a piece with mixed stones or old solder joints is a risk, and it gains you little over a soap soak.

If you do use an ultrasonic at home, keep it to diamond-only studs in sound settings. Follow the manufacturer's solution ratio and check each stone for movement afterwards. The Diamond Collective says jewellery can stay in the machine "for up to 30 min"; I would start with much less.

Natural, lab-grown and treated diamonds

Lab-grown and natural diamonds clean the same way. In Lab-Grown Diamond Jewelry: What are Synthetic Diamonds? (2016), GIA states that lab-grown diamonds "have nearly the same physical and optical properties as natural diamonds. They are just as hard." Being hard doesn't make a diamond unbreakable, though. GIA's 2017 ring article also notes that "Diamonds have cleavage," which means a hard knock can split one along certain planes. Dropping an earring on a tile floor is a bigger risk than any cleaning routine.

The one diamond to treat differently is a fracture-filled one. GIA's page on diamond treatments describes fracture filling as "a molten lead glass-like substance used to fill feathers or white fractures in a diamond." It warns that "common repairs and cleaning with steam, acid or ultrasonic solutions can damage the filling. If the filler turns dark, it cannot be made colorless again." GIA also says it "does not grade diamonds that have been fracture-filled." If your earrings came with no report and cost well below similar studs, don't assume anything. Stick to soap and water.

Earring checks to do while they are clean

A clean earring is the best time to inspect it, because the grime that hides problems is gone.

Prongs and stones

Hold each earring by the post and gently push the diamond with a fingernail. GIA's test for rings works here too: "if it moves, it's loose." Look for gaps between the stone and the prongs, and for prong tips that are worn flat or snagged.

Posts and backs

• Roll the post between your fingers. A bent post makes the back sit crooked and wear faster.
• Push the back on. A friction back should need real pressure to move. If it slides on freely, it has opened up, and a jeweller should tighten or replace it.
• On screw backs, check that the threads aren't stripped. A back that spins without tightening means you'll eventually lose the earring.

If anything feels loose, stop wearing that earring until a jeweller has looked at it. GIA suggests getting prongs "checked every six months," and that schedule suits studs you wear every day too. Re-tipping a prong costs far less than replacing a lost diamond.

What to do next

Tonight, take your earrings out, separate the backs and give them a 20-minute soap soak over a bowl. While they dry, do the push test on every stone. If a stone moves or a back feels loose, get it fixed before you wear them again.

If you're replacing a pair, browse our diamond earrings or search loose diamonds to see how size and grade change the price. For care advice on rings, pendants and bracelets, our other guides cover each piece in the same plain way.

Sources

• The Diamond Collective. How to Clean Diamond Jewelry: The Expert Guide. Accessed October 2026. thediamondcollective.world
• Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Holiday Buying Guide: How to Clean Jewelry. 2015. 4cs.gia.edu
• Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Gems and Ultrasonic Cleaners. 2015. 4cs.gia.edu
• Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Lab-Grown Diamond Jewelry: What are Synthetic Diamonds? 2016. 4cs.gia.edu
• Gemological Institute of America (GIA). How to Protect Your Diamond Engagement Ring. 2017. 4cs.gia.edu
• Gemological Institute of America (GIA). How Diamond Treatments Can Impact Color, Clarity and Value of a Diamond. Accessed October 2026. 4cs.gia.edu