How to Store Vintage Costume Jewelry

What's the best way to store costume jewelry? Should you keep your rhinestones away from water? Are wood boxes a no-no?  Can the pieces touch? Much like the matting of photographs, painting, or even in scrapbooking these days, it is prudent to keep in mind that how long you want your jewelry to last will ultimately determine how you store it.

Assuring your jewelry survives for the next generation is not always easy, or guaranteed.  Even under the best of circumstances the materials used in making costume jewelry can be self-destructive over time.  Since costume jewelry was manufactured to be less expensive alternative to real jewelry, and therefore it's base materials are more delicate, (as well it is often more difficult to replace or repair), vintage jewelry needs even more care than your finer jewelry does.

The best way to store your vintage costume jewelry is the way jewelers or museums keep jewelry.  You do not see jewelry  heaped in pile at a jewelers, nor do you see dirty jewelry being stored.  In other words, take care not to store your jewels like  the jumbled mess in many a jewelry box.

There are a few simple rules for jewelry storage:

1.        Keep jewelry clean

2.        Extreme temperature changes are to be avoided

3.        Extra care to keep away moisture

4.        Pieces should not touchI

If you remember the KEEP strategy, you are doing your best to make sure your jewelry can be handed down for the next generations.

Each piece of jewelry you have should be stored separately to keep harder items from scratching or pitting softer ones.  There are many ways to do this:  You can use individual soft pouches or drawstring bags (I'd think twice before using one with a zipper as the zipper could damage the jewelry); you can use standard jeweler's trays (available on the Internet) that are flocked and have individual sections to keep jewelry in, or you can use your sectioned jewelry box in this manner as well as long as you do not put more than one item of jewelry into each of the sections and of course your jewelry box needs to have a soft, plush type lining.  No wood or alabaster boxes should be used for storing jewelry, as chemicals in them can interact with your jewelry elements and cause damage or instability.