Can gemstones be worn while swimming?

You should never wear gemstone jewellery while you are swimming. Chlorine and salt water rapidly cause severe chemical and structural damage to both the stones and the metal settings, which is not a small issue. Also, cold water makes your fingers physically shrink, and that can make rings slide off more easily and become permanently lost.

The strong sanitising chemicals used in swimming pools, especially chlorine, actively pit, discolour, and eventually degrade the precious metal alloys (notably white gold and sterling silver) that hold your gems in place. After repeated exposure, this can make the prongs weaker, more brittle, and loose. Porous stones such as turquoise and treated stones like emeralds can absorb these substances quickly, causing lasting dullness and stripping away the clarity-boosting oils almost immediately. To protect your investment properly, keep your jewellery stored in a secure place before you enter a pool, a hot tub, or the ocean.