How To Pack Jewelry For Moving?

As exciting as it is, moving homes can be totally disorienting: You might not even know where your toothbrush is, let alone your priceless items and valuables. Minimize your stress through the process and move with greater peace of mind that your jewelry will arrive safely to your new home with our expert-backed guide to how to pack necklaces for moving.

Whether your necklaces, earrings, rings, whether they’re pricey pieces or just have serious sentimental value, these are the best ways to pack all types for moving. (Bonus: Many of these moving methods are cheap, easy, and use ordinary materials you may already have at home!

一、First Clean jewelry

Before you get into the process of cataloging and processing your jewelry, it needs a thorough cleaning!

Cleaning ahead of time will ensure that the catalog photos you take accurately reflect the condition and newness of your pieces. More importantly, debris and residue are some of the top contributors to jewelry damage, so cleaning can help prevent dust, dirt, oils, and cosmetics from causing harm once everything is packed away.

• Use a jewelry cleaning solution like Simple Shine for gold, silver, platinum, and treated gemstones
• For stainless steel, use a mixture of water and baking soda for stainless steel
• For less expensive jewelry, use mild dish soap, vinegar, or lemon juice
• Not sure what your jewelry is made of? Polish with a microfiber towel to avoid damaging it

二、Sorting Your Jewelry

Before sorting pieces in preparation for packing, take some time to go through your jewelry collection, especially if you haven’t done it in a while. Weed out any items you no longer wear or like, are too worn to be repaired, and don’t have any sentimental value.

Since each type of jewelry requires specific packing methods and materials, it’s easier and quicker to pack them if they have first been sorted into groups. Choose a flat surface such as a table, a bed or the floor. Place clean sheets of packing paper (not newspaper – it can leave marks) on the surface. Put the jewelry on the paper. Then arrange them by type – all the rings together, bracelets in one place, etc.

三、Choose Materials To Pack Jewelry

Paper for packing: Soft packing paper, tissues (Kleenex), white tissue paper cushions items inside containers.
Bubble wrap: This packing material offers the best protection for fragile items.
Shrink wrap: Shrink wrap applied to the outside of containers keeps jewelry pieces from shifting in transit. It’s also excellent for bundling wrapped-up packages together.
Sealable plastic bags: Use plastic bags for small items.
Straws: Threading the chains of necklaces through drinking straws prevents them from becoming tangled.
Cardboard cutouts: Cut cardboard into rectangles or squares and attach pairs of earrings to prevent being lost or tangled.
Compartmentalized containers: Containers with compartments such as egg cartons and 7-day pill organizers are ideal for packing rings and earrings.

四、Consider Jewelry Protection For Valuable Items

Your homeowner’s insurance will cover your jewelry collection to an extent, but it will likely max out well before the replacement or reimbursement value for extensive collections. (Note that insurance policies specific to jewelry will have higher limits and deductible requirements that are more tailored to jewelry than a generic home insurance policy.)

If you don’t have valuable items, it may not make financial sense to pay an insurance premium. You’ll likely pay between 1-3% of the jewelry’s value in annual insurance fees. However, if losing your jewelry wouldn’t cause a problem in your daily life, it’s probably not worth paying for a policy.

Remember, some insurance coverage is likely included in your homeowner’s or renter’s policy, so if those policies are in place at the time of your move, that may be enough coverage for you if you have relatively inexpensive jewelry.

五、Packaging Jewelry Correctly

Jewelry comes in different types, shapes, and sizes, so it’s no surprise that each piece has a unique way of being packed in order to protect them from damage.

Pack your containers to reduce movement and damage

Wrap large or dangly earrings in individual pieces of foam or paper before they go into your case. It’s very hard to fully immobilize them, so this will add a layer of protection to your jewelry box, roll or case
If you don’t have a case or can’t purchase one, you can repurpose large pieces of rigid foam or cardboard for earrings
If you don’t have a custom case, hook necklaces and chain bracelets through a drinking straw to reduce movement, and then place them in individual bags or wrap them in foam or paper

Match the storage technique to each type of piece you own

No matter how great your jewelry case or wrapping techniques are, necklaces will tangle, earrings will rub together, and rings will bump into each other. With that in mind:

Wrap large or dangly earrings in individual pieces of foam or paper to immobilize them
Join earrings through spare cardboard or foam
Hook necklaces and chain bracelets through drinking straws,
Use Press’n Seal Wrap to make a custom pouch for anything that’s free-floating in your case

The best containers

The best container for your jewelry will be one that immobilizes each piece so it doesn’t jostle during transit and which prevents necklaces from tangling.

Jewelry boxes are great options to keep everything in one place. Be sure you choose a design that keeps all of your items separate from each other so they don’t rub together. You’ll also want to make sure necklace storage avoids as much tangling and kinking as possible.

Individual jewelry cases can be used for all of your items. You can also use or purchase a few of these for your highest-end pieces and put the rest in a jewelry box. The advantage of individual cases is that they fully protect and pad each item in a that’s customized for its dimensions.

Individual zipper bags are great if cases aren’t an option, you can use the smallest size of zipper bags for each individual piece. Ideally, we mentioned that your jewelry pieces don’t touch each other when they’re packed — this is a great way to keep them from moving around. If you go this route, you’ll need to put each individual bag in a container that is packed tightly enough to keep the bags from jostling around.

Other container options

You may have some of these containers on hand already and plan to use them. These are less ideal options because multiple pieces of jewelry are in the same slots, which can cause damage.

Use jewelry rolls with caution, as their lack of structure can cause kinks or bends in necklace chains with stiffer links, like a box chain. Most jewelry rolls are made of velvet or satin so that they won’t scratch your valuables, and they generally have several pockets for different-sized items and a zipper pouch.

Pillboxes can be used primarily for inexpensive stud earrings and rings. Pillboxes don’t take up much room, but the disadvantage is that they also allow pieces to rub against each other. Avoid using them for precious gems or metals.

六、Packing Specific TypesS Of Jewelry

Necklaces and Bracelets

Thread chain necklaces through a straw and clasp it. Trim the straw to the length you need. For more elaborate necklaces, thread them through a toilet paper roll or a paper towel roll to keep them separate. Wrap each piece in tissue for added protection.

For decorative necklaces that can’t be threaded through a straw or roll, roll them up in a towel or layers of soft packing paper/white tissue paper.

For bracelets without clasps, wrap them in soft packing paper and then place them in a box/padded envelope/sealable plastic bag.

Earrings

You want to pack earrings carefully since they can be the most fragile items in a jewelry collection. Since they are typically small in size, they are in danger of becoming misplaced. Long, dangly style earrings are susceptible to damage, too; they can easily be tangled or scratched.

To store earrings on a cardboard cutout, first poke holes in the cardboard with a pin or tack. Slide the hook or stud into the hole. Secure the stud. Wrap each card in shrink wrap or plastic wrap. Place bundles in a container such as a padded envelope, small box, etc.

To pack earrings in an egg carton or pill organizer, place each pair in its own compartment. Wrap the entire container with enough layers of packing paper or bubble wrap to guard against being crushed or shaken if dropped or jostled.

Rings

When using egg cartons to transport your jewelry to your new Vancouver home, ensure the carton is clean and sturdy. Before placing a ring into its own cup, wrap it in soft packing material. You can place more than one item in each cup, but wrap it first to prevent scratches.

Hard shell containers such as an eyeglasses case also work well for rings and earrings. The same rule applies – wrap each ring or pair of earrings separately before putting them in the container.

七、The Best Transportation Methods for Jewelry

Now that you have scheduled the day for your move, cataloged, packed, and possibly insured your items, it’s time to choose how you will transport them to their new location.

Given the fragility and value of many jewelry collections, it’s generally not a good idea to toss your packed case in with the dishes and clothes on a moving van. Instead, consider these options:

Hand-carry

Whether you’re moving to another country, city, or in-town, hand-carrying jewelry is generally the easiest and safest option. Place your jewelry case up front in the car (or in your carry-on if you’re flying) so it’s in your sight at all times.

Professional movers

If you’re in a situation where you absolutely can’t hand-carry your jewelry, it’s important to select a highly rated and reputable moving company.

Before deciding to go with this option, make sure your moving company has moved high-value items before and has a policy around how this is handled and what should happen if your valuables get lost or stolen. Additionally, we recommend that you do not label boxes “jewelry”. This lets would-be thieves know exactly what they’re looking for.

Armored courier service

If your collection is VERY extensive and contains several high-value items, it could be worth paying the cost of an armored courier service to have your jewelry collection moved for you. These are the pros, and they’ll get your treasured pieces to your new home safe and sound.

A jeweler or safe deposit box (for short-term moves)

If you’ll only be gone for a short time, it may be easier and safer to store your jewelry in place. Some jewelers may store and protect your jewelry for a fee. Alternatively, renting a safe deposit box can give you peace of mind.

Jewelry is not only something that you’ll enjoy for years to come, but it’s also something that can be handed down for years if it’s properly cared for, connecting you with your family for generations.So you need to protect it at all times.