Most care advice answers these three with a flat no, which is unhelpful — people are going to shower with their rings on regardless, and being told not to does not change what actually happens to the piece.

Here is what each of the three genuinely does, and where the real risk sits.

Showering: not damaging, but dulling

Water will not hurt moissanite or solid gold. What causes the problem is everything else in a shower — soap, shampoo and conditioner leave a film that builds up underneath the stone, in exactly the place light needs to enter.

This is why people conclude their stone has "gone cloudy" when nothing has happened to the stone at all. It is a layer of residue, and it comes off with warm water, mild dish soap and a soft brush along the underside of the setting.

Swimming: this one is a genuine no

Chlorine is the exception, and the reason is metal rather than stone. Chlorine attacks the alloys mixed into gold to harden it — over repeated exposure it weakens the metal structure, and the first place that shows is the prongs holding your stones.

A prong that has become brittle does not announce itself. It simply gives way one day, and the stone is gone. This is the single most avoidable way people lose stones.

Salt water is less aggressive but still not kind, and cold water shrinks fingers — a ring that fits perfectly on land can slip off in the sea without you feeling it.

Take rings and bracelets off before pools and the sea. If that is not practical, rinse thoroughly in fresh water immediately afterwards.

Sleeping: depends entirely on the piece

Stud earrings are generally fine, particularly bezel-set ones. Plenty of people never take theirs out. Check the backs occasionally, since that is what loosens.

Rings are usually fine too, though a high-set stone will catch on bedding over years and prongs get pushed out of alignment gradually rather than suddenly.

Necklaces and bracelets are the ones to remove. Chains tangle, kink and eventually snap at a weak link, and a bracelet clasp under a body's weight is a clasp being tested every night.

The simple rule

Water is rarely the problem. Chemicals and movement are. Chlorine, cleaning products and hairspray attack metal; friction and snagging move settings out of position.

If you remember one thing: take it off for the pool, and check your prongs twice a year. That covers most of the risk. When to get jewelry serviced covers the rest.

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