Jewelry Box

The Value of a Jewelry Box

Everyone who owns jewelry wants to protect it. While not all of us can afford a family vault or an easily accessible safe-deposit box, just about everyone can afford a jewelry box. Some are simple wooden boxes secured with a catch; some are essentially thick-walled metal safes. Some are ornate, others plain as water. Whatever the case, you can be sure that almost anyone who owns jewelry will own a jewelry box of some sort to keep it in.

Even little girls, with their flashy plastic costume jewelry, want in on the action. Children's jewelry boxes tend to be simple, with a small mirror inside the lid, and often a music box and perhaps a tiny pirouetting dancer inside (not that you won't see these on the occasional grown-up jewelry box too). Adult jewelry boxes tend to be a bit more complex, with a myriad of tiny drawers and slots for rings, earrings, and bracelets, as well as hooks to hang necklaces.

Tiny treasure chests

Jewelry is the archetypal treasure, and many a jewelry box resembles a miniature version of a pirate's treasure chest. They're an absolute necessity for anyone who values their jewelry, because jewelry has a tendency to get damaged, tangled up, or lost if it's not properly taken care of. The jewelry box lets you organize your items for easy use, and keep them together in an easy-to-find location.

Jewelry boxes excellent gifts (though not as excellent as jewelry, of course). Although they were once more often given as gifts for women, they're becoming more common for men, perhaps reflecting the modern male's willingness to wear more jewelry than in the past. Most boxes, especially those used by men, are simple containers made of wood: walnut, teak, cherry, or mahogany are favored for their strength, durability, and unadorned elegance. They offer a natural appeal that's missing in some jewelry boxes.

A little more pizzazz

If you find polished wood a bit too plain, may we suggest an enameled jewelry box? While most still of them use wood as a base, enameled jewelry boxes are decorated with brightly colored enamel paints, and often take the shape of a butterfly, lizard, or other small animal. Needless to say, these boxes tend to be a bit small. Another alternative is the lacquered boxes so common to Oriental cultures. These exquisitely decorated jewelry boxes are painted black with a special shiny lacquer, then overlain with an attractive painted design that may include inlays of ivory, mother-of-pearl, and other semi-precious materials. In this case, your jewelry box may be as lovely as some of the jewelry it holds -- and possibly even as expensive!