We all want to look great on our vacations, especially in the photos we take to look back on each moment. But traveling with jewelry requires careful consideration.

Your favorite pieces are not only valuable, but also carry sentimental significance. To ensure they remain safe and secure while you’re overseas, it’s essential to take proactive measures.

Our general advice is always to leave anything of value at home, and not travel wearing a lot of bling. Wearing a lot of glitzy jewelry can often paint you as a teft target. 

But it’s still nice to look and feel nice – especially when on vacation!

This guide will provide you with valuable tips and strategies to keep your precious pieces safe while traveling, allowing you to enjoy your journey with peace of mind.

Savvy and Innovative Ways to Protect Your Jewelry While Traveling Solo

Know What It’s Worth

The first step to assessing if something is valuable, is to know how much your jewelry is worth. Once you’ve decided what you will and won’t travel with, a little bit of strategy can then go a long way to keeping it safe!

Visit VRAI’s website for unique ring designs, including rose gold engagement rings, using lab-grown diamonds, and to get a general starting point for costing / what different pieces are worth. 

At the end of the day, the one piece of jewelry solo travelers do still travel with is their engagement / wedding ring (if it applies!).

Keep it all secure with these strategies.

Go for the Decoy

Level up your deception game. Rock some less-valuable pieces that give off the illusion of the same polish, but without the risk.

You can keep the real ice for fancy nights or safe display back home, and then there’s no stress if you do lose one of your pieces while you’re traveling, or if they get damaged by the elements, ie sea / snow / heat / sand etc. 

You can get cheap, fake engagement rings, necklaces, pretty much everything, and while yes, they won’t last very long and you may need to replace them after a number of trips, you’re completely eliminating the risk of losing the real thing.

Obviously though, remember where you keep it when you store it before leaving home.

Undercover Operations 

Secret compartments are your best friends. Think hidden pockets in scarves or specialized travel gear designed with sneaky spots that’ll throw off any would-be treasures hunters.

Once you get to your destination you could whip out what you planned on wearing, but for instance, could utilize your secret compartments for the transit, like when you’re on the subway, or walking through busy streets where there is a higher risk of pick-pocketing. 

Keep in mind that you don’t want to be pulling jewelry in and out of secret compartments all the time, or doing this a lot in public where it may alert anyone watching to where your valuables are being hidden and create the same risk anyway. 

Other ideas for where you can stash jewels are in unassuming containers like lip balm tubes or within the lining of products nobody would bother stealing – think old socks or a pack of tissues. But make sure you don’t inadvertendly throw these out!

Insure it!

Before you jet off, get your items insured – especially if they are incredibly valuable. 

Insurance means it doesn’t matter if your piece gets lost, stolen, or damaged while you’re overseas, as you have a safety net of knowing you can lodge a claim for it’s replacement. 

It’s important to keep in mind that insurance can never replace sentimental value, so keep this in mind when deciding which items to take with you. 

And also make sure you know exactly what your policy does / does not cover for a claim. For instance, you may need to lodge a police report in the city before you go home, and include this documentation within your claim.

Safe Haven Hacks

Leverage hotel safes or locked luggage when you’re out exploring for keeping your valuables safe if you don’t plan / need to wear them.

However, the flip side of this is remembering safe / lock box combinations, remembering where you put them, and remembering to actually take them out and with you when you check out. 

Don’t laugh – it happens!

Local Smarts

Being familiar with local customs and norms before you travel means you’ll be able to avoid standing out as a tourist, and also know what type of behavior is normal within a destination once you’re there. 

For instance, is it normal for women to wear a lot of jewelry in the place you’re going anyway, or is it a place where pickpocketing is extremely common so not recommended?

Blending in means you’ll look less of a target, and that’s the primary goal.

Situational awarness is ultimately what it’s all about – always know the exits when you enter new spaces, keep an eye out for odd behavior, and trust those gut feelings if things seem off.

That confidence is also what makes you look more ‘local’.

Tech Savvy Tracking

Consider investing in small tracking devices for your bags or valuable items. 

This may not be possible for small pieces of jewelry – afterall, you can’t exactly fit a tracking device to a tiny earring. 

But you can place it in your bag where you’re storing them, or if there is a large enough piece for a small device, it could be worthwhile. 

If something is lost or stolen, and you ahve the tracking information, we recommend taking it to the local police, and not actually approaching a suspected theif on your own, especially if you don’t speak the language. 

Your safety is paramount, and above a piece of jewelry.

Use Social Media Wisely

Use social media wisely and don’t broadcast to the world that you have your most expensive pieces with you in a partciaulr city or country.

Ideally, share your photos and updates once you’re home from your trip – it ultimately doesn’t matter whether you’re sharing live or in two weeks time – no-body probably cares when they see your beautiful trip photos, and what’s more important is your safety.

Share your experiences, but maybe skip the live locations or stories until after you’ve moved on from specific spots. Also pay attention to device security.

Additionally, if you’re meeting locals, remember to bond with boundaries. It’s cool to make acquaintances, but keep personal info like hotel details or travel plans close to the vest until trust is built over time.