Coffee, Karak and a Comeback: Saving Amal’s Family Heirloom from Dubai Heat

(And the Metal Data You Can Quote at Brunch)

It was barely 9 a.m. when my phone buzzed.
“Shabnam, something’s wrong with my ring. It’s… brown,” my friend Amal whispered.

The ring her grandmother slipped on her finger last Eid, heavy with love, history, and a little UAE humidity panic.

“Meet me for coffee at 11. Bring the ring, don’t Google.”

Over two karaks and a plate of luqaimat, I opened my purse and laid out six metal coupons I’d kept in a 50°C/95% RH chamber for 30 days (think spa, but evil).

Mirror-bright platinum.
Still-sunny 18 k yellow.
Champagne-tinged 18 k white.
Sad, charcoal sterling.

Amal pointed at the last one. “That’s what happened, only slower.”

Exactly. Her 14 k rose gold contains copper; copper + sea-salt + sunscreen = a harmless brown film.

Two minutes with a jeweller’s cloth and the warm pink glow returned—no machines, no cost, no drama.

Data You Can Quote Later:

• Platinum & 18 k alloys = zero measurable mass change after 720 h Gulf-simulation.
• 14 k rose = 0.15% copper-oxide layer, polishes off in under a minute.

Rules I Gave Her (and Now You):

1. Everyday diamonds? Choose platinum or 18 k. They roll their eyes at our summers.
2. White gold? Book a 20-minute rhodium facial once a year (Dh 150–250).
3. Silver? Occasional brunch earrings only—store with silica, never beach-day it.
4. Pool/sea rinse? Tap water, pat dry. Salt is gossip—don’t let it linger.

Amal left the café sparkling and I left with another reminder: diamonds may be forever, but the metal holding them needs a Dubai passport.

Want the one-page Metal-Care Card? DM me “METAL” and I’ll WhatsApp the PDF, English front, Arabic back, zero spam.