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Life with horses can involve a lot of travel. I was recently chatting with a friend who told me that after losing one of her favorite rings by forgetting it in a hotel bathroom somewhere she now showers with her jewelry on. What she wanted to know is, is this practice safe? Is it okay to shower with your jewelry on?

Some jewelry should never ever go in the shower. Pearls are a great example. Because they’re a natural, organic substance they’ve vulnerable to having their finish changed by steamy hot water, shampoos, body washes, and so on. Additionally, you shouldn’t wear fine watches in the shower.

Conventional wisdom says don’t wear opals in the shower: while the stones themselves are non-porous, the glue used to laminate stones together (a common industry practice) for a very long time wasn’t. This resulted in opal jewelry taking on a cloudy or fogged appearance after being exposed to water.

Be mindful of jewelry’s condition when showering. If your jewelry is set with gemstones - maybe one big diamond or colored gem; maybe multiple small stones - you want to be sure those stones are secure in their settings before showering with this jewelry on. If you lose a gemstone from your jewelry in the shower, the odds are very good it will go down the drain and be lost forever.

As a best practice, you should have your most personally important pieces of jewelry inspected by a jeweler every now and then to make sure they’re in good repair. In real life, people don’t do that often. So with your diamond and gemstone rings, the best approach may be to take those rings off and put them somewhere you won’t forget them, such as with your phone or car keys.

Sterling Silver & Gold Rings: Shower Away, Clean Often

The oils in our hands - not to mention in the hair and manes of our horses - are damaging to the finish on sterling silver and gold rings over time. So it’s a good idea to keep them clean. Showering won’t damage these rings. Keep the finish perfect by having your rings cleaned from time to time.