by Rhea Wood

Created on: June 19, 2010

Whatever the value of a piece of jewelry, many of the same basic safe shipping practices apply.  The goal is to ensure that the jewelry arrives at its given destination intact, undamaged, and in a timely manner.  These tips will ensure that all three of these goals have the best possible chance of being met when you ship jewelry.

To ensure that your jewelry arrives intact and undamaged, you must be mindful of the packaging you place it in.  Simply tossing a silver chain into a cardboard box and taping it shut will do nothing to protect the safety or integrity of the piece.  The chain will bounce around the interior of the box en route, and will arrive as a tangled mess.

The first vital thing is to decide what sort of small interior package you wish to place your jewelry in.  A small interior package, such as a jewelry box, bag, or folded piece of foam, will keep the piece from tangling itself or from becoming separated from its mate.  Each type of jewelry lends itself to a different type of interior package.  For example, a set of earrings would do best either left attached to their original cardboard or plastic organizer, and then placed inside a small cardboard box lined with padding, or left inside their original box.  To protect a jewelry box's finish, it may be wrapped in a layer or two of tissue paper.  A necklace chain would be better served by being gently wrapped around a piece of foam to keep it from being tangled, and then placed inside a small box to protect its finish.

The interior packaging must then be surrounded by a larger shipping container, to provide a final layer of protection and a good surface for address and postage information.  Any sort of small cardboard box will do, as will a shipping-grade package envelope made of poster-board.  Many of these envelopes also come with the option of a bubble wrap interior, which will add even more protection.  Bubble wrap shipping envelopes tend to be the best option, because they are lightweight and durable while providing a perfect amount of protection.  If using a cardboard box, it is vital to make sure the interior package containing the jewelry is not left to bang around the interior; it should be suspended in packing material such as crumpled newspaper or foam, with a layer protecting each side.

Ensuring the shipped jewelry arrives in a timely manner is more difficult, and is unfortunately impossible to guarantee 100%.  For less valuable pieces or pieces which don't need to arrive quickly, your country's standard shipping service may be all that's required.  The United States Postal Service has many different levels of package safety, from basic services to tracking to requiring a signature at the door.  If security is paramount and you want to take every possible precaution that the package is not lost, either use a tracking service or a private shipping company such as UPS or FedEx.  These companies often provide automatic tracking, and can also provide guaranteed next-day or expedited shipping services for a higher fee.

Following these tips will ensure that your shipped jewelry has the best chances possible for arriving intact, undamaged, and on time!  

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