How to Clean Iced Out Jewelry Without Losing Stones

An iced out piece is covered in small diamonds set close together, usually in pavé, where each stone sits in a drilled seat and is held by tiny beads or prongs of metal. Behind every stone is an opening, so light can enter from below. That open back is also a trap. Skin oil, sweat, lotion, cologne and soap slide in and coat the bottom of each stone.

A diamond only sparkles when light hits its lower facets and bounces back up. Coat those facets and the stone goes gray, even though nothing is wrong with it. On a necklace with hundreds of stones, the effect is the whole piece looking like frosted glass instead of ice. The fix is cleaning from the back, not polishing the front.

1. Fill a bowl with warm water and a few drops of mild dish soap. Close the sink drain anyway.
2. Lay the piece in flat, face down, so the open backs of the stones sit in the water. Soak for 20 minutes.
3. Use a soft or extra-soft toothbrush. Brush the back of the piece first, with light strokes along the rows of stones.
4. Turn it over and brush the face with even lighter strokes. You are moving soap, not scrubbing.
5. Rinse in a second bowl of clean warm water until no suds come off.

Heavy buildup on a piece you have worn for months may take two soaks. That is better than one hard scrub.

The back of an iced piece decides how it looks. Here is where to focus by type:

Our house lab diamond necklaces, such as the Round Lab Diamond Necklace 18.48 ct ($6,500) and the Round Lab Diamond Necklace 30 ct ($8,950), are lines of round E color, VS1 stones, and those grades only show when the back of every stone is clean.

Do not rub an iced piece dry with a towel. Terry loops and paper fibers catch on prongs, and one hard pull can lift a bead of metal off a stone. Instead:

• Lay the piece on a soft towel and press another towel on top to blot.
• Finish with a hair dryer on the cool setting, held about a foot away, to push water out from behind the stones.
• Leave it flat for 15 minutes before wearing or storing.

Water spots under the stones are just as dulling as oil, so the drying step is part of the clean.

GIA describes ultrasonic cleaning as often safe for securely set, untreated diamonds, but risky for stones that are loose, heavily included or treated. Iced pieces are the hard case: hundreds of small stones, each held by very little metal, all shaken at once. A home ultrasonic unit can finish loosening a stone that was already weak, and you may not notice until it is gone.

A jeweler checks the settings under magnification before any ultrasonic or steam cleaning, which is the right order. Do the gentle soak at home as often as you like; leave the machines to the bench. To understand how pavé stones are held in the first place, read how diamonds are set in iced out jewelry.

Some habits fill the backs of the stones in days instead of weeks:

• Cologne sprayed on the neck after the chain is on. The oils go straight into the settings.
• Wearing the piece to the gym. Sweat carries salt and skin oil into every gap.
• Sunscreen and body oil at the beach or pool.
• Sleeping in it. Pillow contact presses skin oil into the back of a pendant all night.
• Touching the face of the piece to straighten it.

Iced pendants worn on a Cuban get the worst of it because they sit flat against the chest. Hang them on the chain after you dress, and they stay brighter for much longer.

Every clean is a chance to inspect. Under a bright lamp, look for:

• An empty seat: a small dark hole where a stone used to be.
• A stone sitting higher or tilted compared with its neighbors.
• Movement: hold the piece near your ear and tap it gently with a fingernail. A loose stone often clicks.
• Snagging: a raised prong catches on a cotton cloth.

If you find any of these, stop wearing the piece and put it in a closed bag so a loose stone cannot fall out. Our guide on what to do if a diamond falls out covers the next steps.

Iced pieces worn daily look best with a home clean every one to two weeks. Pieces worn on weekends need it every three or four weeks, and always before they go into storage. Put on cologne and lotion before your chain, not after, and take it off for the gym. Browse more iced out jewelry and iced out chains, or see the general method in how to clean diamond jewelry.