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How To Store Jewellery: Silver, Gold, Diamonds
Jewellery can be both sentimental and expensive, so learning how to store jewellery properly is an important art and necessity for maintaining everlasting keepsakes.
Jewellery has long been revered as a timeless expression of style and grace. As Kate Moss once said, “Jewellery is eternal…it never goes out of fashion, it will always be there.”
We couldn’t agree more, which is why knowing how to store jewellery is vital for keeping it safe.
Be it diamonds, silver, gold or pearls, jewellery can change a mood, uplift a look or revive an outfit. Knowing how to store jewellery based, by considering the type or occasion (home versus travel) you can maintain the longevity of precious pieces and wear them time and time again.
When it comes to key pieces, each type has its own materials and considerations so knowing how to store diamond jewellery or how to effectively store jewellery for travelling may vary.
With this in mind, we’ve created a Francesca jewellery storage guide that shares simple tips on how to store jewellery depending on the type or the environment you’re in.
To learn more about how to store jewellery safely and practically, read on below.
Expect to learn the ‘what, when, where’ for each key type: from how to store diamond jewellery, how to store gold jewellery and how to effectively store jewellery for travelling.
Francesca Guide On How To Store Jewellery
Jewellery is much like fine wine, it often is best kept in a sheltered environment, free from too much sunlight and heat exposure to ensure the metal (or element) doesn’t become tarnished.
To learn what your jewellery profile is, how best to accommodate it and build confidence in knowing how to store jewellery effectively, read on below.
1. Learn Your Metal’s M.O.
If you’ve ever watched crime shows, it's likely you’ve heard the phrase, ‘M.O.’ or ‘Modus operandi.’ Modus operandi is a Latin word for ‘mode of operating.’ While on TV it mostly relates to criminal habits, in this case, it is more of a simple way to understand that jewellery too has its own unique character profile when it comes to how it behaves in certain conditions.
Depending on the metal or material type, each piece of jewellery may have its own unique ‘M.O.’ which means how to store jewellery and treat it may look different.
When it comes to where to display jewellery, a consideration in particular for how to store gold jewellery is to ensure anything you want to have on display is not in direct sunlight.
Sunlight that’s high UV can in some cases, in time, potentially warp the metal or lead to dullness or discoloration depending on the carat. Yellow gold is more resilient as it has a much higher carat value, however rose gold holds a lower value so it’s not uncommon to fade in time.
Our tip with how to store gold jewellery is to always aim to keep it in a jewellery box free from sunlight when not using. This also applies to sterling silver.
To learn more about how to care for gold or silver jewellery, see our blog on how to care for jewellery and consider purchasing a Francesca Solid Gold Polishing Cloth.
Diamonds are often a girl’s best friend… which is why they need extra special consideration when it comes to safely storing diamond jewellery, be it at home or travelling.
With this in mind, we love having a jewellery box on hand, so diamonds can always be on standby. As Liv Tyler says, “I carry a little collection of jewellery I love with me, in case I need diamonds.”
Depending on the diamond jewellery, each type will have its own storage considerations.
For example, when it comes to engagement rings, while they are meant to be worn always, often everyday life activities like - washing up, gardening, sport or the security gate at an airport may pop up and that’s when removing a diamond ring can be risky if storage isn’t considered first.
With this in mind, it’s important to consider knowing how to store diamond jewellery in advance, so you can safely tuck it away without risk of getting lost, falling down a drain, being stolen etc.
Our advice? Think ahead of time and consider taking it off and leaving at home in a security safe or in your bedroom jewellery box beforehand.
For a home jewellery box, we love our Stacker Jewellery Box or alternatively you can consider a small travel jewellery box that you can keep in a handbag or car, to gently place your diamond ring or jewellery into before the activity.
For travel or incidental activities, the best small travel boxes that make knowing how to store diamond jewellery in easy are our minis - the Petite Jewellery Box or the Bevel Jewellery Box.
3. Take Time To Consider Your Travel Plans
With the world reopening, travel is finally back on the cards and that ticket to Europe, Bali or beyond feels possible again, yay. Which also means, just as you need travel insurance, you also need to factor in how to effectively store jewellery for travelling and keep it safe when overseas or in transit.
With international travel, it’s important to consider extra safety measures when it comes to how to effectively store jewellery for travelling, as certain countries are a little more risky when it comes to theft. But even on local trips, it’s good to ensure pieces don’t get lost or left loose or tangled in your baggage.
Here are a few key tips we recommend that apply across the board, whether it’s how to store diamond jewellery, how to store gold jewellery or pearls, gemstones or sentimental pieces.
Storing jewellery when travelling tips:
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Visualise where you’re going: Think about the climate you will be in. Is it going to be ultra hot? Then knowing how to store gold jewellery is vital. Can you keep jewellery tucked in a suitcase or out of direct sunlight? Take the time to plan first so you can pack accordingly.
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Think about safety: When booking a hotel, look at whether they have a security safe in the room. Ideally it’s good to book accommodation that offers a safe option as a precaution especially when it comes to how to store diamond jewellery.
If not, we recommend taking a small discreet travel jewellery box such as our Petite Jewellery Box or the Bevel Jewellery Box and hiding it away somewhere that can’t easily be seen or found when you go out for the day.
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Plan for your activities: If a tropical poolside or beach vacay is your thing, then a really important consideration is being careful when it comes to chlorine or sea salt and sand.
Chlorine is a risk factor when it comes to sterling silver, rose gold and alloy gold that can lead to erosion and or discoloration. While equally, sand and sea salt can often tarnish metal.
So, if sun lounging is your thing, wearing jewellery may be fine. But if you love swimming or sand castles, we recommend saving precious pieces for glam dinners and keeping things bare by day.
As for how to effectively store jewellery for travelling when being active? We recommend keeping it tucked away in a Petite Jewellery Box or the Bevel Jewellery Box prior to heading out.
For more ideas on how to give your jewellery love pre or post travel, see our how to clean jewellery blog.