Necklace and jewelry storage?

March 1, 2006 7:28 AM

How do you store your jewelry, specifically necklaces?

My girlfriend does not have an overwhelming amount of jewelry, but she does have a lot. I have already bought her a jewelry box that houses the rings and earrings well, but she has about a dozen or so necklaces and bracelets that she just won't keep in there. She claims that they "are always tangled" when she gets them out. Instead, she piles them on her nightstand, or hangs them on things that are not designed for hanging jewelry -- and I still end up taking out tangles every few weeks. And yesterday, she knocked three necklaces off of her nightstand and into her garbage can.

So how do you store your necklaces and bracelets? Are there jewelry boxes specifically designed for this? Where should I look for one?

Her birthday is in one week, so this is probably going to be her gift. My price range is about $50-$100. Help!

posted by MrZero to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (26 answers total)

I got my wife a jewellery box which has compartments for earrings, slot-things for rings, drawers for bracelets, and hanging things for necklaces. You can see that I'm a connoiseur of stuff like this!

I got it from Index, a UK catalogue store - I'm sure that something similar should be available from most places that sell girly gifts, or possibly even jewellery shops...
posted by Chunder at 7:33 AM on March 1, 2006

Get a necklace tree! You can get various designs I'm sure - the basic concept is that it's a thing with "branches" which you can hang necklaces off so they don't get tangled. Looks nice on a chest of drawers or whatever as well.
posted by Lotto at 7:41 AM on March 1, 2006

Perhaps something like this jewelry box with "Necklace Carousel" might help. There are a bunch of similar items with slightly different designs/finishes available on their website. I know there's a strange connotation when buying items from QVC, but they really do have great quality products, and their return policy is better than any department store's.
posted by MeetMegan at 7:45 AM on March 1, 2006

I use a biner (metal mountain climbing clasp) tied to a scarf, draped over the corner of my mirror. I do no have room for a large box with a carousel. They are nice. But if you want looow tech, the biner is about 2 bucks.
posted by oflinkey at 7:53 AM on March 1, 2006

Response by poster: I think she would use a necklace tree, but I would prefer a box of some sort (I'm tired of looking at it all).

Also, since I only have a week, where could I physically go to look at stuff like this? I don't want to order off the internet, in case I'm not satisfied with the product. I'd prefer to get hands-on before buying. Where do they sell these things?
posted by MrZero at 8:00 AM on March 1, 2006

I use a lot of silver pushpins in a corner of the bedroom- one or two necklaces per pin.
posted by small_ruminant at 8:01 AM on March 1, 2006

i have a little mirror with hooks for most of the necklaces. i believe i bought it at world market or pier one or some little cheap homegoods store like that. some necklaces i store in the jewelry store pouches they came in. bracelets, i lay flat in a box. they sell little boxes with hooks on the end for clasping the bracelets, but i'm lower tech than that.

red envelope (online gift store) usually has jewelry storage. field's (state street) used to have them in the luxury gift department upstairs by the bridal registery, but i don't know if they still do. y'know, the macy's thing
posted by crush-onastick at 8:01 AM on March 1, 2006

I hang my necklaces on hooks on the wall, and have a couple of industrial thread spools for bracelets. (Not a good birthday present, probably.)
posted by hilatron at 8:01 AM on March 1, 2006

For a practical storage solution, check out Bed, Bath & Beyond or the Container Store. They will have several styles of jewelry boxes/organizers for you to examine.

My preferred solution is a low-profile, flat container with many small compartments -- basically a fancy version of a tackle box. Some of these are designed for jewelry, but you can also find useful versions made for organizing desk drawers. One necklace, gently coiled, per compartment. IMO, anything that involves hanging multiple necklaces together -- like a tree -- leads to tangling.
posted by junkbox at 8:14 AM on March 1, 2006

Most department stores will have these sorts of items. Just go to the jewelry counter and ask where they'd have them. It's sometimes in bed/bath, but sometimes they're in completely random places like purses.

Also, you can try Target and other such retailers. I know Kohl's has an extensive collection. Good luck!
posted by MeetMegan at 8:23 AM on March 1, 2006

I'm a jeweler. I would caution her (and everyone else) to not store her jewelry in a jewelry box or anything that is displayed nicely in her bedroom or dressing area. Storage of this type is an easy magnet for burglars. I go to many security seminars and the top no-no for home jewelry storage is a jewelry box that sits on display in a home. Thieves want to get in and out of your residence as soon as possible, and a large decorated holding area is the first thing that they look for.

As far as safe storage, I would recommend a soft jewelry roll .I don't know what kind of stones are in her necklaces and bracelets, but some may be light sensitive (such as amethysts). Also, if she has pearls, the soft innards will protect them from getting scratched. I would also recommend storing that jewelry roll in someplace other than a dresser drawer. I keep mine in a closet in another room in my home.
posted by Flakypastry at 8:27 AM on March 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

I bought cast iron coat hooks from Pier One and hung them at different levels on the wall - I love looking at all my necklaces!
posted by agregoli at 8:41 AM on March 1, 2006

Flakypastry beat me to it -- the rolls are really good. One thing: the clasps should be clasped when storing a chain or necklace to prevent tangling, unless you're talking about something heavy and "untanglable" like an omega collar. Hanging is also a good way of storing, but generally puts your stuff out in the open for potential burglers to find. So if she goes that route (which is cheaper, of course), she should find a nice, discreet place to hang them. Insurance is of course designed for just such a possibility.
posted by middleclasstool at 8:47 AM on March 1, 2006

This clear acrylic necklace holder is what I use.
posted by lola at 9:00 AM on March 1, 2006

My mother stores most of her jewelry on pushpins on a cork board--earrings as well as necklaces. This seems to prevent tangling as well as (I would assume) making it easy to choose and coordinate the day's adornments. Plus, easy to rearrange and doesn't make lots of holes in the wall.

Of course, this does not address flakypastry's concerns about burglary, nor does it seem quite aesthetic enough for a gift--maybe you could get a really nice corkboard with fancy thumbtacks.
posted by fermion at 9:27 AM on March 1, 2006

I use an over-the-door hanger similar to this. This way I am not taking up valuable counter/surface space, and the necklaces dont get tangled.
posted by kimdog at 9:36 AM on March 1, 2006

JC Penny had a great bunch of wooden jewelry boxes at christmastime with necklace hooks in them. I've also bought little stick-up hooks for the bathroom wall - like agregoli I love having them visible.
posted by selfmedicating at 9:45 AM on March 1, 2006

I guess it depends on what kind of necklaces she has, and how many. The roll is good for the good stuff, but if she has a lot of contemporary, inexpensive stuff, hanging is the way to go. My mother has 50 or 60 beaded necklaces and I bought her a nice wooden tie rack. She can see what she has at a glance and it doesn't get tangled.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:30 AM on March 1, 2006

Response by poster: I should clarify some more. It's mostly "contemporary, inexpensive stuff." She already has a rack that hangs on the wall, and the trees look nice, but we are both clutterers and if it isn't in a box, it just looks messy.
posted by MrZero at 11:11 AM on March 1, 2006

I don't have specific suggestions, but I do have a place where you could go look that's not on the internet (well they do have a website) -- The Container Store has tons of jewelry storage stuff, I just use a box, but they have things with necklace hooks and all sorts of compartments.
posted by echo0720 at 11:15 AM on March 1, 2006

I personally use silver pushpins, but you could get a nice wall mounted knicknack shelf and put some brass hooks along the bottom of it.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:15 AM on March 1, 2006

Not very useful to the originator, but thanks to you hook people I think I'm going to buy a pretty wall hook at Anthroplogie for my necklaces.

Thanks for the idea!
posted by birdie birdington at 11:31 AM on March 1, 2006

You might be able to adapt this Pavo key Cabinet to your purposes by putting the hooks where you want them and painting it to make it a little more enticing. And of course you might find something altogether prettier in a second hand shop somewhere.
posted by firstdrop at 11:43 AM on March 1, 2006

If it's not really nice stuff, and if they're even fairly slim chains, slide a drinking straw onto the chain. No more tangles.
posted by booksandlibretti at 12:38 PM on March 1, 2006

How about necklace tree as art, MrZero?
posted by ersatzkat at 5:10 PM on March 1, 2006

And there's these, which are meant to go into a display case. There are different sizes of cases avail for these.
posted by ersatzkat at 5:14 PM on March 1, 2006