There are a lot of things to plan when travelling; between boarding passes, itineraries, passports and budgeting, what to pack is often last on the list of priorities, let alone how to pack whatever you decide to bring. However, when it comes to jewellery ensuring your pieces are properly cared for while travelling is essential.
There’s nothing worse than excitedly getting ready for a night out while on holiday only to realise that your necklaces have become an unmanageable ball of knots or that one of your favourite earrings has gotten lost somewhere in transit. So here are a few tricks to keep your best pieces at their best when jet-setting across the globe.
Choosing What to Bring Along
The first decision to make is what jewellery you even want to take on the trip you’re embarking on. It may seem obvious but it’s worth mentioning that it’s not the best idea to bring any family heirlooms or irreplaceable pieces, even with the best plans accidents happen, between lost luggage to the simple added difficulty that comes with trying to check if a piece is in lost and found from across state or even country borders, no matter how careful you are you can misplace things.
While that may seem more like common sense there is one important piece you might not consider leaving behind at first, engagement and wedding rings. Despite often being one of, if not the, most important pieces in anyone’s collection it’s also one that most people don’t think twice about wearing as they’re typically worn at all times but when travelling it might be worth considering leaving it at home. Of course, it’s entirely reasonable to want to have that physical sign that you’re in a committed relationship, but consider instead buying a cheap dupe so you still have a ring to wear, both for yourself and for photo ops, while not risking your actual rings.
Beyond keeping your most precious pieces safe at home, generally, it’s best to limit your selection to only the essentials, pieces you wear daily with maybe one or two alternatives to dress up or down depending on what you’re doing. This is where considering where you’re going comes into play, are you going on a coastal trip? Then it’s best not to bring things that will tarnish or rust if you decide on an impromptu swim. Are you going somewhere snowy, perhaps on a ski trip? Then consider that you’ll be rugged up in layers and most jewellery won’t be visible anyway.
How to Avoid Tangling
One of the most common issues with carrying jewellery when travelling is how tangled it can become, delicate chains and bracelets are the worst offenders but if you simply place all your pieces into a makeup bag and hope for the best you’re likely to wind up with a ball of unwearable metal, almost like leaving wired earbuds in your pocket too long.
At home using jewellery stands or bangle boxes keeps pieces in their best condition, but when on the road, carrying a box is cumbersome and awkward not to mention ineffective as those containers aren’t designed for the jostling that comes with planes, trains and the like.
This is where looking into a proper jewellery pouch can be a great idea, they’re sectioned out with barriers and hooks to keep pieces separated and laid out so they don’t tangle with other pieces or themselves, and they’re soft and small enough to slip into carry on so you don’t need to worry about your jewellery being lost if your luggage is.
If you’re still worried about tangling, necklaces can be threaded through a straw and reclasped which keeps them from looping back over themselves at all, and if you were planning on bringing a reusable straw might not even take up extra space.
If you’re only carrying a few pieces it might be worth getting a hinged ring or spring o-ring clasp as it’s an easy way to store a few rings by simply sliding them onto the ring and then clasping it onto something inside of your bag.
Why Bring Jewellery At All?
Reading all this it might start to become a question of if bringing any jewellery is worth the effort. While for some trips leaving it all at home might be the best call, holidays are about having fun and part of that is dressing in the way that makes you feel best. Many outfits feel incomplete without some accessories and sometimes sunglasses and a bag simply don’t fill that space.
And that’s not to mention that for a lot of us, many of our jewellery pieces are sentimental, and whether for emotional or religious reasons it simply wouldn’t seem right to go without.
Travelling can be stressful and keeping jewellery pieces safe can be a task in day-to-day life, combining them can make for quite the headache, But with some planning and the right tools, it’s not impossible to bring what you need to dress your best while abroad.
~
Are you a jewellery retailer or distributor looking for a new way to showcase your wares? Want to make travelling with precious items simpler? Contact Gens Packaging today, and see how we can help you take your displays to the next level.