Tips on Traveling with Fine Jewelry

You've created your fine jewelry wardrobe of classic lab grown diamond jewelry. Every day is a little more brilliant with a touch of sparkle elevating everything you wear. You never feel quite yourself until you put it on. That's why when you are traveling, it just doesn't feel right to leave your jewelry behind.

Enjoying your vacation to the fullest means looking and feeling your best, whether you are visiting a museum, going out for an elegant dinner, or dancing at a beachfront bar. But you also definitely don’t want to lose one or all of your favorite pieces and put a damper on your vacation either. Of course, there's no way to keep it 100% safe, no matter where you go. But there are things you can do to protect your jewelry when you’re traveling that will help keep it safer. Here are our top tips on traveling with your jewelry.

Don't Bring Heirlooms

Traveling with jewelry is all about minimizing risk. Think about your trip and what you will be doing each day. If you are headed to a busy resort and will be at the beach or in the spa all day, leave your new lab grown diamond bracelet at home. Heirlooms that are irreplaceable shouldn't go on vacation with you. Basically, if you would be devastated to lose it and won’t be wearing it everywhere you go, don't travel with it. One of the best things about lab grown diamond jewelry is that many pieces are affordable enough for you to wear them everywhere without worrying too much about losing them.

Streamline Your Jewelry Wardrobe

When you are packing for a trip, choose a few versatile pieces that you can wear all the time with the outfits you are bringing along. A jewelry capsule wardrobe of a few Key pieces will help you feel dressed without being stressed. Lab-grown diamond stud earrings, one pair of drop or hoop earrings, a simple lab grown diamond solitaire necklace and your engagement ring and wedding band are the kind of everyday styles you can wear every day of your vacation. If you want a few larger pieces for a specific outfit, you can layer in some costume jewelry.

Keep Your Jewelry with You in Transit

When you are travelling to your destination, you need to make sure your jewelry stays with you, not your luggage. That's why an edited selection of pieces is essential: you need to wear it or carry it in your purse or under-the-seat bag. Never pack jewelry in checked bags. Think of how many suitcases go missing every day! While you are on public transportation like trains, boats, and airplanes, you should be able to touch the bag with jewelry in it at all times. This is a lot easier when you have a nice compact jewelry travel case that will keep earrings and rings in order and necklaces untangled. Pro tip: you can put thin chains through a straw on one side to keep them from getting knots. Of course, the easiest way to know where your jewelry is at all times is to wear it.

Know When to Take Your Jewelry Off

Are you headed to the beach? Going skydiving or windsurfing? Going to the spa for a salt rub? Please don't wear your jewelry. The beach is the most common place to lose your jewelry. In particular, rings have a habit of slipping off your fingers when your warm hands hit cold water. There are metal-detector business who specialize in looking for lost engagement rings and wedding bands on beaches up and down the coast for a reason. Earrings and necklaces, too, can easily fall off in the sand, never to be seen again. Sunscreen is notorious for coating gems and dulling their sparkle. If you feel naked without your rings, you can buy an inexpensive and durable replacement for the beach, working out and sports. Simone Biles wears a silicone ring at the gym during practice and leaves her engagement ring at home.

Use the Safe If Possible

During your trip, you need to make sure that any jewelry you aren't wearing is secure. That means you need to lock it up. Many hotels provide a safe in your room, which is the easiest way to do this when you are out and about. Of course, it isn't foolproof since hotel staff can unlock the safe but it's usually fine unless you are travelling with really valuable pieces (which you aren't, right?) Another option is a travel safe, which is a bag that locks to something permanent, like a closet bar, water pipes, or something similar. Make sure you double check the room safe before you leave if you use it. Make sure you don't leave something precious behind.

Know When to Sparkle (and When to Not)

You'll definitely appreciate being able to wear your diamonds to an elegant dinner in London or to a wedding in Dallas. But if you are headed out for a rave in Berlin or a street food tour in Bangkok, don't flash your sparkle around. Thieves have a great eye for jewelry and they know which pieces are worth taking. (Remember when Kim Kardashian was robbed of her $4 million engagement ring in her hotel in Paris in 2016?) Because your lab grown diamond jewelry is identical in appearance to natural diamonds, thieves will assume your pieces are worth four or five times the price. Sometimes there's no avoiding losses but a little street smarts can help make you less of a target.

Consider Insuring Your Jewelry

Jewelry insurance can help cushion the blow if you do lose a piece on vacation or at home. (Remember, your homeowner or renters insurance generally doesn’t cover jewelry.) Your jewelry's sentimental value will be lost but at least you'll be able to replace your missing piece and make some new memories with it. Look for insurance that covers the full replacement value at the retailer where you purchased the piece so you can be sure you will receive the exact same quality.

Enjoy Your Vacation!

Follow these tips and you'll enjoy a vacation full of fun and sparkle. But if you will be staying in hostels or hotels without safes, consider leaving your jewelry case at home and just taking jewelry you'll feel comfortable wearing everywhere you go all the time. The important thing is to be able to relax and have a fabulous time.