As we all know, scams are everywhere, yes, even when it comes to jewelry storage, so don’t be fooled! You may think you’re being clever, by stashing away those precious jewels in the freezer or in that dirty clothes hamper, but guess what? That same “trick” has been used for generations and burglars know it! Some storage mechanisms can even cause more harm to your jewelry than security, even if your jewelry is never actually stolen. So, let’s walk through some of the popular, but not so safe, means of jewelry storage, and then we’ll share some tips on how to safely and securely store your favorite jewelry pieces.
Where NOT to Store Your Jewelry
- Gimmicky Household Item Safes – You’ve probably seen the cute hollow book safes out there that look like a book, but are hollow on the inside, designed for hiding valuables. A fun and trendy concept for sure, but unfortunately flawed. Burglars know every trick in the book (yes, pun intended), and they will raid bookshelves and other places you think they would never be drawn to, such as: bathroom cabinets, flour bins in the kitchen, the “secret hole” behind the picture frame, so don’t think just because you wouldn’t look there, that the burglar won’t either
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- Fridge or Freezer – Don’t laugh, people really DO store precious valuables inside their fridges and freezers. Depending how old you are, this may apply more so to your grandparents’ generation, but while it may be an ok concept for some valuables, it’s most definitely not ok for jewelry. Cold temperatures will damage jewelry, and extreme cold will even crack or shatter precious gemstones, so don’t do it! Plus, like we mentioned in the intro, burglars will many times raid your fridge just in case.
- Jewelry Boxes – Now don’t get us wrong, jewelry boxes can be great for storing jewelry, as long as they are not out in the open or “hidden” in a sock drawer. If your jewelry is all in one place and easy to just pick up and run, that’s exactly what the thief is going to do! The same goes for lock boxes, small safes (you know the ones that look like suitcases?), these all make it way too easy for the burglar. Even if he can’t open it on the spot, he will have plenty of time to crack it open when he gets it back to his safe location.
- Coat or Other Pockets – Don’t let what happened to one of our jewelry safe customers happen to you. She stashed her jewelry in different locations, thinking logically that if a burglary occurred, at least the thief would not get all of her expensive pieces. Well, a burglary never happened, but what did happen was she gave away some coats to a second hand store and forgot to check all of the pockets, so you can guess what happened. One of her precious rings is gone, all because of a little oversight. Don’t risk misplacing or giving away your jewelry…which brings us to: Where should you store your jewelry?
Where TO Store Your Jewelry
- UL RSC + Rated Jewelry Safe – There is only ONE secure means of protection for your jewelry and that is a quality rated jewelry safe. UL RSC is a bare minimum, for true security go with something that surpasses that rating, more steel more strength. We won’t go into super detail about ratings in this article, but there are two ratings you should pay attention to: the burglary rating and the fire rating. For more info on what each of these ratings mean, visit the burglar rating and fire rating FAQ pages. It is also important to remember that storing your jewelry inside a safe is not enough if that safe is not at least 400 lbs. or securely bolted down to the floor. A burglar can haul away lighter weight safes and crack them open when he gets to a secure location. If the safe is heavy enough or bolted down, he won’t be able to do that and will quickly get frustrated and move on.
P.S. Remember that beautiful jewelry box you own? You can still use it! The proper place for it however is locked inside your jewelry safe. Or better yet, make your jewelry safe your jewelry box. That’s where Casoro comes in. Casoro luxury jewelry safes are no ordinary safes; in fact, one of our customers described the inside of his safe as feeling like the counter of a jewelry store. So, browse around, check out our gallery, ask us any questions you might have, and most importantly – Don’t fall for jewelry storage scams!
