Whether you’re heading out for a sun drenched vacation at the beach, to visit friends in a city locale, or even a business trip, jewelry is something you will definitely want to bring with you. It elevates your outfit, or it can shift the mood of what you are wearing from playful to elegant with just a quick change of jewelry. While traveling with jewelry may sound a bit daunting, it doesn’t have to be challenging. At Jewelers Circle, we’ve put together a few pointers and tips to help you easily pack a capsule jewelry collection for your travels.
Curate Your Travel Jewelry
Just like when you pack your clothes for a trip, you only take what you know you are going to wear. It’s the same thing with jewelry. Take the pieces that will work with your clothing. The first step is to decide on the clothes that you are taking. Once you have your outfits planned, then you can choose the jewelry that you would like to take on your travels. When you’re selecting the jewels that you want to take with you, keep in mind that this is a case of less is more. You want to bring the jewelry that you will wear while leaving your most expensive pieces at home, including family heirlooms, items that have sentimental value, or that are in some way irreplaceable.
So how do you decide which jewels to take with you? Once you have your travel wardrobe planned, select the pieces that will go with more than one outfit. An easy way to do this is to pick pieces that are jewelry wardrobe basics such as:
• A diamond solitaire necklace, diamond solitaire earrings or other small stud style earrings. All are versatile enough to go out for a day of casual sightseeing, an evening of fine dining, or a night out clubbing.
• Alternatively, you may opt for gold or silver hoop earrings and a gold chain, two more basics that easily transition from day to night and go with pretty much everything, making them easy to style with other jewelry you bring on your trip.
• Simple bangles or bracelets also predominantly in gold or silver work well when traveling and are versatile enough to go from a daytime business meeting to cocktails after work if you’re on a business trip. They also add the fun to more casual attire.
• When it comes to rings, consider bringing stacking rings. You can mix and match to create several different stacks that will work for any activities that are planned for the day.
If you’re heading out to a destination where you know you’ll want to wear some of your more important jewelry, make sure your insurance will cover any loss or damage that may occur. Many hotels have a safe in the room, but if you want an extra layer of security for your more valuable jewelry, ask if there is a hotel safe or vault where your pieces can be stored when you are not wearing them. If you are traveling with expensive jewelry, take pictures of each piece, just in case there is an unhappy event and something is lost, or stolen, you’ll have a record for insurance purposes.
How to Pack Jewelry For Travel
When you get to your destination and unpack the last thing you want is a big jumble of tangled jewelry. This is very easy to avoid by packing your jewelry in a traveling jewelry carrier. There are many styles to choose and what you decide to use may depend on how much jewelry you are taking with you and personal preference. Here are a few choices:
• The travel jewelry case is a small hard sided box that usually zips closed. It will have space for a couple of rings, a few pairs of earrings and some necklaces. Flexible bracelets will also fit. Cases are usually made with a velvet or suede lining to prevent damage.
• Jewelry rolls usually provide more space than the case providing plenty of room for your jewels. Once everything is in place, it rolls and can easily be stashed in carry-on luggage. Jewelry rolls are often lined with velvet or suede which protects jewelry from scratching.
• There are also jewelry organizers which fold in half and are flat. They often have clear vinyl compartments which is good for finding things, but the vinyl may not be jewelry friendly. It can hold moisture which is not good for jewelry and it may stick to the stored items; wrapping your pieces in tissue helps to avoid that problem.
• Another option is to put all of your jewelry in a small bag, such as a cosmetics bag, with no compartments. This option offers a lot of flexibility. You can keep your jewelry in their original pouches and tuck the pouches inside the bag. It's also easy to carry cuff bracelets and other rigid pieces in this type of bag. The key here is to make sure each piece is wrapped in its own pouch, box, or tissue, to prevent scratching or other damage.
Arriving Tangle Free
You absolutely want to avoid knotted chains and pieces that get tangled together. Here are a couple of pointers for keeping everything tangle free and organized:
• To keep the chains on dainty necklaces from tangling, place each piece in its own pouch leaving about an inch or so of the chain dangling out of the pouch, then pull the string closed with the little bit of chain hanging outside the pouch, this prevents the chain from tangling.
If you don’t have the original box or pouch for your earrings, no worries. Here are two hacks to keep your earrings organized:
• Take an unused button and put your earring post through the hole, put the back on the post and now you have an easy earring holder. You can also do this with hook back earrings.
• Another way to keep small earrings or rings safe and easy to access is to use a plastic pillbox, simply put your earrings or rings in each compartment. Because the plastic is hard, it’s a good idea to place a piece of tissue in the compartment with the jewelry, this will protect the piece and prevent scratches.
Also, travel with a soft cloth so you can wipe off your jewelry at the end of the day. If your jewelry needs a deep clean, have it professionally done before you leave or when you return home.
Put Jewelry In Your Carry On
When you travel with jewelry, keep it in your carry-on luggage, personal item or handbag. That way you can be assured that your jewelry will arrive safely with you and won’t be sitting around on a luggage conveyor when you reach your destination.
Jewelry is an important accessory that sets or changes the mood of clothing, so of course you’ll want to travel with a few of your favorite jewels. When you’re packing, create a curated collection of pieces that you know will work with multiple outfits, simple jewelry styles are often the most versatile. Plan it right and your jewelry will add a nice personal touch to your clothing without you having to worry about having the right jewels for the occasion.
Top of Page: Image courtesy Pexels
Diamond and 14-karat gold earrings; Chain necklace in 14-karat gold; Mixed diamond shape and 18-karat white gold necklace; Diamond and 14-karat gold bracelet.
Authored by Amber Michelle