How To Organize and Care for Your Jewelry

by Nancy Plante March 09, 2020

It’s easy to fall into the habit of wearing the same jewelry every day, even when you have an assortment of gorgeous pieces that you love. One of the reasons you might wear the same piece over and over is that you can’t SEE what else you have to wear. Many of us have a tendency to tuck our jewelry away to keep it safe. Or we simply forget we even have it in the first place. I’m going to share with you my tips and tricks to organize and care for your jewelry to make your life a little easier.

Throughout our years in business, we have seen all types of ways that customers store and care for their jewelry. A few customers come in with their precious jewelry all jumbled together in a pouch, or falling out into the bottom of their pocketbook. As you can imagine, this is hard on fine jewelry. You can’t find what you’re looking for, and it places extra wear and tear on your investments. Chains can get kinked; pearls and gemstones may get scratched or even loosened when they aren’t properly stored. A ball of tangled jewelry can be just plain frustrating.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is someone who is so organized that she plans out what she is going to wear an entire month at a time. She will set aside her jewelry based on her plans and store the rest in her safe deposit box until the next month.

Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle: being organized while keeping your jewelry accessible,visible, and safe.

Keep Your Jewelry Safe

Keeping your jewelry safe from theft is paramount. If you have a safe in your home, that’s great. If not, the first rule of jewelry storage is as follows: NOT in the bedroom, and NOT in your lingerie drawer. Those are the first places a thief will look. Choose a different room and have a safe spot. Whether it be a box or some other kind of storage container, find a hidden location that is easy for you to access but not obvious to someone who breaks in.

If you don’t have a safe, it’s a good idea to separate your jewelry and store the pieces in more than one location. Make a list of what is stored and where it is, and keep the list in your safe deposit box. You can also let someone in the family know where you keep your precious things.

Pinterest is overflowing with ideas on how to use your jewelry as decor. If you feel comfortable doing this, go for it, but we recommend reserving this for only your costume jewelry. Precious jewelry such as diamonds and gemstone necklaces should not be left out on display. 

Store Your Jewels Like The Precious Items They Are

Our newly-engaged ladies set the bar high for taking care of their sparkly new rings. They clean them constantly, bring them in often for steaming and checking, and tuck them cozily into their appropriate box at night.

On the other hand, there have been a few customers bringing in jewelry to be appraised or repaired, giving us a wad of chains wrapped up with diamond stud earrings embedded in the links, with pearls knocking into sharp earring posts, or a precious emerald ring dumped in the bottom of a purse. 

To keep your jewelry looking its best and to avoid damaging gemstones, divide and conquer. Store each piece in a separate compartment or in a small ziplock bag or soft pouch. Jewelry keepers with clear zippered compartments are great to hang in the closet or to put in a safe deposit box. This allows you to see every piece and helps prevent tarnish. Your jeweler can give you ziplock bags that will keep jewelry separated and tarnish-free. 

Here are some additional tips for storing each type of jewelry:

• Earrings—Place one into a ziplock and put that bag and the other earring into a second ziplock. For studs, put the post of one through the back of the other and fasten, so they will not be able to scratch each other. Some jewelry storage rolls have a section with holes to put the earring posts through to keep them separated.

• Rings—If you have room, the original box is great. Otherwise, a soft pouch or bag for each ring. 

• Necklaces and chains—To avoid tangling, always fasten the clasp after you take them off. Some jewelry keepers have loops to hang the chains inside a zipper compartment. A jewelry box will also have hooks in the lid to keep necklaces neat. You can place each chain in a ziplock bag and let the top inch or so of the chain stick out the top when you zip it. Foolproof storage! If your chain has a knot in it, you can lay it on a table and use two straight pins to coax it apart. Or, bring it to the experts—your jeweler!

• Bracelets—Fasten link styles and store separately so they don’t scratch each other.

As a general tip, for the safety of gemstones, store your jewelry away from extreme temperature changes.

Keep Track Of Your Jewels

It’s an awful feeling when you realize you’ve lost something. You look for a pair of earrings and realize you haven’t worn them since you took them off at the hairdresser’s. Or the strand of beads you always keep in that blue pouch is nowhere to be found. Doing something out of our regular routine makes it easy to lose track of things. Here are some tips to help you keep track of your jewelry.

Take the Time to Put Things Away  

Remove that brooch from your sweater before you forget and it goes through the wash. Take off your necklace before you pull your top off over your head and break the chain. Don’t leave your bracelet on the edge of the sink.

Don’t EVER Wrap your Jewelry in a Tissue  

If you’re getting a haircut, don’t wear earrings. Instead, bring a pouch or ziplock bag to put them in. If you wrap something in a tissue it’s easy to forget, and by the time you remember, you may have thrown away your precious jewelry by mistake. 

Don’t Take your Rings Off When You’re in a Public Place

It’s extremely easy to lose track of something without thinking about it. This includes taking off jewelry to wash your hands in a public place, to put sunscreen on at the beach, or to work out at the gym. Either leave your rings at home or put them on a chain around your neck.

Have Your Jewelry Checked Periodically to Ensure Nothing is Loose or Damaged

It’s important to have your jewelry checked periodically to be sure gemstones are tight and clasps are functioning properly. At the same time, your jeweler can give your baubles the “spa” treatment, making them clean and sparklier than ever.

If you see that your prongs are catching on clothing or you hear your ring rattle when you shake it, bring it to be checked. Clasps that don’t “click” like they used to might need an adjustment to be sure they are holding tight. Additionally, earring backs might benefit from a quick tightening. 

It’s always a good idea to have your jeweler take a look at your jewelry once in a while. There’s never a charge to check things and it’s better (and cheaper) to fix something before it gets worse. It could potentially prevent having more work done on your jewels or the loss of a gemstone.

Plante Jewelers is here to help with all your fine jewelry needs. Whether it’s time for an inspection or you need advice on how to properly store your jewels, we are here for you. Visit our store in Swansea today where our staff of local experts are ready to help with all your jewelry needs. 

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