You wear jewelry to accessorize your outfits every day without a second thought. When you travel, however, it might be a good time to think twice about what pieces you want to bring with you and how best to keep them safe.
Losing a precious, and expensive, piece would be heart-breaking, wouldn’t it?
Be Smart
Consider the pieces you truly want to wear while you are away from home. Do you need the diamond-encrusted bracelet for lounging beside the pool? Or the emerald ring on your finger while horseback riding or white-water rafting? Or the 3-carat diamond ring while attending a show?
Do you need to wear jewelry to the beach where the sand can quickly devour any piece that falls onto it, and where sunscreen lotion can get into chains and clasps, and the seawater can cause pieces to lose their shine?
Avoid Packing It in a Checked Bag
It may not need to be said, but we’ll mention it anyway – please don’t ever put your jewelry in checked baggage! Wear the piece or carefully stow it in your carry-on bag. Be wary of wearing bracelets that have dangling chains or charms, as they can easily get caught and break before you realize it.
Always keep your carry-on bag with you; avoid handing it off to anyone, such as concierge, hotel staff, taxi or shuttle drivers, and so on.
Document It
We recommend keeping pictures of your pieces and lists of the items you will have with you, at home, in printed versions. Of course, you can keep pictures and lists on your cell phone, too, but on the off chance that you can’t access the phone, you want to be able to have pictures and descriptions for law enforcement and/or insurance purposes.
Keeping the details ‘in the cloud’ is an option too, the point is to have accessible documentation of the items.
Protect It
Hotels may have safes, but there’s no 100% guarantee of protecting your jewelry from theft or damage.
Having insurance for your pieces can let you travel stress-free – or at least free from the knowledge you won’t lose the financial investment if a piece is lost or stolen while you are traveling. We recommend Jewelers Mutual Insurance, as they specialize in protecting personal jewelry and they are licensed in all 50 states.
If it’s an heirloom, or simply a piece with a lot of sentimental value, no amount of money will be able to ease the pain if it is lost. Perhaps that’s the best piece to leave at home.
Have the Pieces Serviced
If you really want to wear certain expensive pieces while away, we recommend bringing them in for a cleaning and servicing before you go. We can check the clasps and prongs to make sure everything is secure. We’re open Monday-Saturday, 10AM to 5:30PM.
Use a Jewelry Organizer
For the pieces you absolutely have to bring with you, consider using a jewelry organizer to carry them. The organizers have various-sized pockets to keep pieces separate and untangled. You can find pouch- and box-style organizers easily.
Enjoy Your Time Away
Our best tip is to not bring any jewelry you will worry about losing! Enjoy your time away!
