How to Pack Jewelry for a Move

The professional packers at All My Sons Moving & Storage offer tips and tricks for packing your jewelry collection.

If you love to glamour it up for a night out, you may have a substantial jewelry collection. From the precious rings to the just-for-fun costume necklaces, your jewelry makes your self-expression shine and you would hate to see any of it lost or damaged during your move. Not to fear, there are many ways to make sure your jewelry pieces make it to your new home in great condition.

It’s possible that valuable jewelry will fall on the list of items your movers will refuse to move for you. If this is the case, you will have to make a plan for packing and moving the jewelry yourself.

A move is a great time to ensure everything that comes with you fits into your new life at your new home. Take some time before your move to evaluate your jewelry pieces and decide what might just be taking up space in your collection.

As you look through your jewelry, try to recall the last time you wore each item and how wearing it made you feel. Sort your jewelry into four separate categories.

• Keep: The pieces you adore and wear often or have up on display. You should also include those sentimental pieces you couldn’t possibly part with in your keep pile.

• Sell: Jewelry pieces made with precious stones and metals can likely be sold at a local jewelry store or exchange. Less precious pieces and costume jewelry can be sold on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Mercari. 

• Donate: If you do not want to try and sell your jewelry in good condition, you can donate it to a charity like Jewelry for Good or Helping Hands of America. 

• Discard: Broken jewelry, single earrings, and jewelry that is otherwise no longer good to wear should be discarded. You can donate discarded jewelry to Radical Jewelry Makeover to upcycle your jewelry pieces. 

Once you have downsized your jewelry collection to the pieces that really make you feel beautiful and that matter to you, you can proceed to packing the rest of your jewelry up.

Your jewelry box or armoire could be a secure place for your jewelry to travel, or moving your jewelry this way could be a recipe for tangled necklaces, broken bracelets, and missing earrings. When you pick up your jewelry box or armoire, listen to see if the contents inside shift around a lot. Lots of noise? Find an alternative packing method.

Take your jewelry out and sort it by type and size. Put rings with rings and large chained necklaces with other large chained necklaces.

You have several options for move-safe jewelry containers. Jewelry rolls, which are ideal for taking jewelry traveling, can be purchased from Target, Walmart, Amazon, Etsy, or your favorite jewelry retailer. These can work for small collections, but if you have a large collection of jewelry you might require more than one container or several boxes.

• Necklaces: Keep necklaces from tangling by tightly rolling them in tissue paper, or thread the ends of your necklaces through straws. 

• Earrings: Earrings can go in special individual earring boxes, or if you have a large collection of earrings, you can buy a sectioned plastic container designed for storing beads and trinkets. Put your earing sets in the individual sections and fill any empty space with cotton balls or tissue paper to keep earrings from jostling too much.

• Bracelets: Wrap bracelets in tissue paper to keep them from tangling. Valuable bracelets should go in individual padded jewelry boxes.

• Rings: Especially valuable rings should go in ring boxes kept on your person at all times during the move. Less valuable rings can also go in the sectioned plastic containers you used to move your earrings. Be sure to fill empty space with tissue paper or cotton balls.

• Tiaras and Crowns: Wrap tiaras and crowns in packing paper and then nest them against each other as you pack them. Be sure to fill any empty space in your box with packing material.

Once you have wrapped and packaged your jewelry pieces, you can put them into a small box like a shoe box. These shoe boxes can then be packed into a larger box.

Once you have put small boxes containing your jewelry into a small to medium moving box, you should fill any empty space in the box with packing material like papering paper, bubble wrap, or packing peanuts. This will keep the boxes from shifting too much during transit.

Check the weight of your box before you seal it to ensure you can lift the box. If the box is too heavy to lift, repack the box. 

Label your boxes with a black marker. You can mark your jewelry boxes as fragile to ensure you remember to carry the box with special care.

As many professional movers see packing and moving extremely valuable items like jewelry as too much of a liability, your movers may request that you make alternative plans for transporting your jewelry. If you have a large jewelry collection, you may need to make multiple trips in your personal vehicle or enlist the help of a friend or family member to be able to transport all your jewelry items and your essentials together. 

When you reach your new place, take the jewelry boxes into your bedroom and unpack your jewelry after you have unpacked your essentials.

With your jewelry safe at your new home, you’ll be able to show off your beautiful style at your next big event or night out. Put on that shiny bling and make an impression at your housewarming party.

Need to make a move? All My Sons Moving & Storage can do all the heavy lifting. Call 1-866-726-1579 to reach one of our 90+ locations across the nation or use our online quote form to get started on your move.