One of the adjuncts to our passion for adornment is the specialized containers we need to hold them. Jewelry boxes come in so many shapes, sizes and materials that a list would be longer than your arm or mine. Jewelry boxes can be designed to hold only one piece of fine gold jewelry, like the leather jewelry box designed and made to hold fine jewelry such as is made for the extremely rich. Or a jewelry box can be made to hold a large quantity of jewelry like jewelry armoires, pieces of furniture with shallow drawers and side cabinets with hooks. Jewelry boxes are made for a specific kind of jewelry, like cuff links, rings or bracelets. There are jewelry boxes made for souvenirs, that may never actually be used to hold jewelry. Natural materials used in a jewelry box include wood, shell, and feathers, even peacock feathers.

Most jewelry boxes are silent, but there are those that incorporate music boxes. The music is generally triggered by opening the lid of the box, as is wound using a permanent key attached to the music box. The most typical musical jewelry box is the white box with a pink interior, which has a ballerina on a spring. When the box is opened, the ballerina springs upright and turns while the music plays. There are millions of these boxes, and more are made every day.

Some jewelry boxes are simple round boxes made or porcelain or glass. These have a lift off lib and hold anything that will fit in them. There are no dividers, so the jewelry tends to gets jumbles around. These jewelry boxes are more for decoration than to actually hold jewelry. The opposite end of the scale is acrylic trays with “velvet” divider inserts that stack. The configuration of the insert dictates what jewelry goes where, there being specific trays for rings, bracelets and necklaces. These jewelry trays are not decorative at all, but are very functional. New ones can be added as your jewelry collection grows.

For traveling, the jewelry pouch or roll provide some protection for your jewelry. The roll, especially, has interior pockets of different sizes where you can pack an appropriate piece, and the whole thing rolls up to further protect your precious possessions.

There is one more kinds of jewelry box I want to discuss: the gift box. Often this box is made of paper, and may seen disposable. However, if it has the name of the jewelry manufacturer, you should consider keeping it and the jewelry that came in it together. Keeping the vintage costume jewelry with the box may increase its value if it turns out you need to sell the jewelry later. I know some people are all scoped in on the boxes of famous jewelry stores and manufacturers, judging the contents by the wrapper, and this is not really what I mean. Keeping the jewelry in the presentation or gift box also usually protects it by keeping the jewelry from getting tangled or by rubbing softer material against hard stones.

The jewelry box is a decorative collectible of its own, and need not be used to hold anything. When you travel, watch for different forms at add to your collection.

* * * Read about vintage cufflinks. * * *

Go to the Table of Contents to see all the topics covered so far.

Click American collectibles to go to the latest entry on this site.