What Makes a Good Jewelry Safe?

There are many options available for secure storage of jewelry; so how do you decide which one is right for you? We have a detailed article here on Choosing the Right Jewelry Safe To protect jewelry, look for these features

• Consider the insurance requirements. Check with the insurer for any requirements they may have regarding your jewelry storage. Their requirements establish the lower end of security you may consider.
• For smaller or less valued collections up to $20,000 a safe with a B burglary rating or an RSC I rating may suffice. For values greater than that, you'll want to consider a safe with a higher rating, like a TL-15 or TL-30, and for very high-end collections, a TL-30x6 (see our Which Safe Should You Buy? for Recommended Burglary Ratings for given values or jewelry collections).
• Fire rating, 30 minutes is the bare minimum you'll want if you live in an urban single level home. For rural areas, or high-rise/commercial buildings, you'll want at least 60 minutes and preferably 120 minutes as emergency response times are slower in these areas.

There are manufacturers out there that make jewelry cabinet safes that are absolutely gorgeous, but be cautious when shopping for those. Some of them are very pretty to look at, but wouldn't secure a toy ring from a box of Cracker Jack's. If you have valuable jewelry, safe's manufactured for security should be your main focus, with aesthetics as the afterthought, not the other way around.

If you focus on the security of the jewelry safe first, you'll also have wider options in your selection of safes, as well. There are jewelry cabinets and drawers in a huge variety of shapes and sizes that can be placed into a safe. Rather than limit yourself to a small selection of safes with pre-configured jewelry holders, you can instead get a safe with your desired security features that fits into the space you want it to, then add in jewelry containers or drawers that suit your needs for your collection. An added benefit is you can also allow space for other safe contents besides jewelry.

Jewelry Safe Drawers / Cabinets

For those with large jewelry collections, you will likely want to consider jewelry cabinets. Jewelry cabinets are for large storage of jewelry. As the name implies, they are typicall 2-4 drawer cabinets with predefined storage for necklaces, watches, rings, etc...

Sometimes they have been specifically designed to fit snuggly into a given safe size by the manufacturer, but they also may be placed into any safe that is large enough to hold them. Because of this Jewelry drawers are standalone units that look nice even if not placed into a safe.

We carry 3 jewelry cabinets. A 2-drawer by AMSEC, where the base drawer is a file cabinet, and 4-drawer jewelry safe cabinets by AMSEC and Hollon.

For details on which jewelry drawer can fit into which safe, see our article on "Selecting the Right Jewelry Safe" or simply browse through the products highlighted above.

Jewelry Safe Boxes

Jewelry safe boxes are excellent solutions for those that don't have large collections. Jewelry safe boxes are meant to be placed onto a shelf within you burglary rated jewelry safe. 

Some of the boxes are traditional, with a lid that opens upward, but most often you'll find the boxes carried by safe outlets have a drawer that pulls out. This is so the box does not need to be removed to be opened and get to the jewelry. 

When looking at jewelry boxes, be sure that the dimensions will fit onto the shelf you have. Not only width and height but if the box is a pull-out drawer type, the safe's depth needs to be large enough for the box depth. 

Jewelry Safes for Closets

Most jewelry safes will ultimately be placed in closets. This is the worst location as the closet is usually the first place a burglar heads to when tossing a home.

However, the convenience of the location is undeniable and if you've gotten the proper burglary rating, your safe will be extremely difficult to remove and/or access.

Knowing that these safes will go into closets, jewelry safes are normally smaller, typically being less than 50 inches tall, and 26 inches wide. 

However, they will could weight several hundred pounds due to their burglary rating so placing them on a shelf, that hasn't been reinforced to handle the weight, is not recommended.

Recently, AMSEC and Hollon have introduced very small jewelry safes for closets that have TL-15 and TL-30 UL ratings. They are excellent for the tight spots or short shelving of a closet, but you do loose considerable storage volume (much of the safe's size goes towards it's burglary rating features).

Types of Locks Available on Jewelry Safes

Safes used for jewelry storage usually will have all the lock options available in the safe market today: Dial, digital code, and biometric.

Dial Locks

Tried and true, these rarely fail. But for a jewelry safe they aren't really appropriate. This is because they are difficult to open and when you're accessing your jewelry often, they may be more frustrating than the benefit they offer in longevity.

Digital Locks

Digital locks allow access via a 4-8 digit pin code. This makes them easier to use than the dial, but a few mistyped codes in a hurry can lead to the digital lock temporarily shutting the user out. This is usually only for several minutes, but can be frustrating as well, thus are not the best option for a daily use safe.

If you do get a digital safe lock option, get one where the batteries can be replaced from the outside of the safe, rather than having an override key to gain access if the batteries die.

Override keys are rarely used, tend to get lost or misplaced, and are the least secure part of any safe (as they are easily bypassed).

We Recommend Biometric Locks for Jewelry Safes

This recommendation is based purely on convenience. It will be the easiest way to enter the safe often. Previous issues with these locks have largely been addresses and they are much more dependable and secure than they were a few years ago. 

Biometric locks often come with a digital keypad as a backup entry method, and at least one manufacture (S&G) has gained a UL EMP-rating on their locks to resist a magnetic pulse.