The Easiest Ways to Travel with your Jewelry
Written by Krystyn Lambert
March 4, 2021
The physical act of traveling to reach your destination can be a stressful pain, especially when you’re packing dainty items you care about…
Read: precious pieces of your jewelry collection. Necklaces get tangled, earrings lost, a bangle pops out of its pouch and gets separated from the others. We’ve all been there, so here are five hacks to use when traveling with your jewelry.
1. Use a Straw for Necklace Chains
One of the biggest pains with travel is having your necklaces getting gnarled into a knot. In order to avoid this, a simple and inexpensive answer is to thread the chain through a straw. This way you’re restraining the primary culprit when it comes to jumbling itself together or with others. If you have necklaces that have become tangled, and it seems like all hope is lost, you can quickly have it smoothed out with this no hassle service.
2. Keep Pieces Separate with Cling Wrap
Another speedy solution for keeping items separate from each other while maintaining organization is to put them in cling crap. Lay a square of cling wrap flat, place your jewelry on top, add another layer of plastic, and you’re squared away. It’s best to keep it as flat as possible to avoid breakage, so try keeping them between books or magazines. Then you can stack bracelets and pendants in layers for secure packing. This way you can accommodate the full range of jewelry, from fashion to fine.
3. Save your Mint Tins for Smaller Pieces
Ensure you’ll never lose an earring again! Small mint tins are perfect for housing your smaller pieces like tennis bracelets or stud earrings. Since they’re compact, you can stack a few in your bag to keep like items together and in discrete packaging. Pro-tip: add a cotton ball inside to stop things from rattling around and potentially getting damaged.
4. Safety Pin on Fabric and Roll It Up
Haven’t found the perfect jewelry box? No worries. Take a piece of fabric, like a clean tee-shirt, and safety pin your jewelry toward the top. From bangles to necklaces (complete with straws), secure the piece with the safety pin, and then roll the fabric and tie with a scrunchie or ribbon. Now you have a space-saving option to easily pack in your carry on. You’ll know where everything is, and the shirt rolled around it makes it so your jewelry will stay padded and out of harm’s way.
5. Invest in a Hanging Jewelry Case
Similar to the previous option, you can always invest in a hanging jewelry case that you can keep in a garment bag or right in your personal carry-on bag if it can roll. Unlike the convenience of a mint tin, this requires some research and planning to ensure you’re getting the right casing solution for your travel needs. However, the benefit is that if you choose the right one, you can have all of your jewelry in one place. This has obvious advantages, but it is far less discrete, and if the entire bag is stolen, everything is gone. Whereas with some of the other methods discussed, you can have items more spread out. But if you know you’re going straight from the airport to Grandmother’s house, this could be a good idea for you. Otherwise, you may want to consider purchasing a locking travel jewelry case, like this one.
Remember that it’s always best to keep jewelry in your carry-on when flying, and keep it stored in a bag that you know will not be crunched if you’re driving or taking a train. Taking a trip can be a great reminder to give your jewelry some much needed TLC by planning for a deep clean and repair either before or after, depending on your wear and usage. What techniques have you used to organize and keep jewelry safe when traveling? Sound off in the comments!