How to Store Your Fine Jewelry

Bit by the spring cleaning bug? Rotating your collects ion? For whatever reason you may want to put your jewels and baubles into longer-term storage, here’s how to (and, just as importantly, not to) store your precious jewelry.

1. Find the right environment for storing your jewelry.
If you want to store jewelry long-term, the attic or basement may not be the best option. Damp and humid environments leave jewelry more susceptible to tarnishing and discoloration. Meanwhile extreme temperatures, particularly heat, can cause discoloration, internal damage to gemstones and pearls to become dry and crack. The ideal environment should be at a stable room temperature with low humidity.

2. Select a jewelry box with a fabric lining.
Opt for a box with a cloth lining and individual compartments for your jewelry. The velvety lining will keep pieces—especially gemstones and items made of soft.mes tals like gold—from scratching or chipping along the sides of the box.

3. Store like-materials together.
Every metal has a different hardness so your platinum ring can easily scratch your gold bracelet if they’re stored side-by-side. Therefore store like-metals together and delicate gemstones separate to keep them from nicking one another.

4. Use anti-tarnish strips.
Even when properly stored, silver jewelry tarnishes fairly quickly. So slip a few anti-tarnish strips into your jewelry box to absorb the air pollutants that causes that dull film to set in on your silver pieces.

5. Invest in a safe or safety deposit box.
If you have very valuable or sent.mes ntal pieces that you do not wear often, consider storing them in an at-home safe or at a bank safety deposit box. Bare minimum, you should have your most precious jewelry items insured. You can purchase insurance through homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. But for high ticket items an insurance agency that specializes in jewelry may give you the best coverage. Regardless of the agent you choose, to get insured you will need your original receipt and a valuation of the item by a certified appraiser. Keep any receipts, original boxes and insurance paperwork separate from where you store your jewelry. In the unfortunate event that your items are stolen, these documents will help minimize your financial loss.

To learn more about caring for your fine jewelry, we detailed how to clean your most-loved and oft-worn pieces here.