I get this question constantly. Someone is heading to Italy, or Mexico, or just to Tahoe for a long weekend, and they want to know: do I bring my engagement ring? My grandmother's emerald earrings? The watch?

The honest answer is more nuanced than most travel articles suggest.

I think the rule "leave everything at home" misses the point of owning fine jewelry in the first place. You bought these pieces to wear them. You should wear them. But there's a meaningful difference between wearing your ring to dinner in Florence and wearing it to a beach club in Tulum at 11pm after three margaritas.

So here's what I actually tell my clients in my Santa Monica studio.

What I'd take

Your engagement ring almost always comes with you. Most people are not going to leave their ring at home, and that's fine — that's what it's for. The trick is knowing when to take it off during the trip. Off when you swim in the ocean. Off when you're applying sunscreen, lotion, or anything oily. Off when you're hiking, skiing, or doing anything where you might slam your hand against something. The ring isn't fragile. Your prongs are. A well-made platinum prong can take quite a bit, but the moment one bends slightly and you don't notice, your stone is on the floor of a hotel bathroom.

Stud earrings are the safest fine jewelry to travel with. Diamond studs in particular are the workhorses of any travel kit. They look right with everything from a bathing suit to a black-tie dinner, and the post-and-back design means they're hard to lose if your ear bumps against something.

A simple chain or pendant is also low-stakes. I'd avoid anything with an elaborate clasp or a fragile bezel.

What I wouldn't bring

I'd leave the heirloom emerald necklace at home. Emeralds are softer than people realize — about a 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, and they almost always have inclusions that make them more brittle than something like a sapphire. A bumpy taxi ride and a hard hotel safe edge can be enough to chip an emerald. If the piece has serious sentimental or financial value and isn't easy to replace, it stays home.

The same goes for opals, pearls, and turquoise. These stones are reactive. Pearls hate sunscreen, perfume, and chlorine. Opals can craze if they dry out. Turquoise can absorb oils and discolor. None of this is a death sentence — it just means these aren't beach-vacation jewelry.

And I'd think twice about heirloom rings with old prong work. If your grandmother's ring hasn't been inspected in twenty years, the prongs may be paper-thin without you knowing it. Don't find that out in a foreign country.

The hotel safe is mostly a lie

Here's the part nobody likes to hear. Hotel safes are not actually safe. The combinations can be reset by management, the safes are often bolted to flimsy wood, and there's almost no recourse if something disappears. I had a client lose a sapphire pendant from a five-star hotel in Paris. The hotel's response was a polite shrug.

If the piece is actually valuable — meaning replacement cost over a few thousand dollars — you have two real options. Wear it on you, or leave it at home. The room safe is a feel-good measure, not actual security.

Insurance is the boring answer that matters

Before any trip, check your jewelry insurance policy. Most policies have a travel rider, and many have specific exclusions for things like beach activities or international travel without prior notice. Schedule appraised pieces individually. Standard homeowner's coverage is usually inadequate — I'd guess two-thirds of my clients are underinsured and don't know it.

If you don't have proper jewelry insurance and you own anything worth over a few thousand, fix that this week. Jewelers Mutual and Lavalier are the two I see most often, and the premiums are more reasonable than people expect.

What to actually pack it in

A small zippered pouch with separate slots beats any fancy travel case I've seen. The expensive leather rolls look great but they let chains tangle and stones scratch each other. I tell people to use the soft pouches their jewelry came in, or buy a few inexpensive zip pouches and dedicate one piece to each. Throw the whole thing in your carry-on, never your checked bag.

If you want to talk through what to bring on a specific trip — or you have an heirloom piece you're nervous about — that's the kind of thing I help clients with all the time. You can reach out here and we'll figure it out together.