Leave Your Jewellery at Home?
 

I found this comment "leave your jewellery at home" on a thread about what to wear in Rome etc. I thought Italians are pretty big on gold jewellery etc (at least my antipodean Italian friends are). Do all of you confidently wear your "everyday" jewellery such as engagement rings, necklaces etc when travelling? Do pickpockets / gypsies target people for their jewellery? I know in parts of Asia I had to leave my rings at home. I have a nice engagement ring that I wouldn't like to lose or send out the wrong message about!

Depends on where I travel. If I go to a poor African country I leave everything home, even my wedding ring. <BR>When I travel in Europe or northern Africa, I wear my "everyday" jewellery and never faced any problems. <BR>

BP: With us, we take little. When traveling on business, I take only those things that I can afford to lose. In airports, train stations, etc. I always keep my belongings close. On subways and buses, I leave no baggage open and carry a small wallet in my front pocket. <BR> <BR>When we travel for pleasure, we wear only wedding rings, while my wife wears less expensive necklaces and earrings and the engagement ring, etc., stay at home. <BR> <BR>We try to avoid situations that may invite theft. We have not yet lost anything, so far, so good. Take the minimum, this can especially be true in the Caribbean where horror stories seem to abound.

-- <BR>I find it best to leave anything home that you would be upset if it was lost or stolen. I follow this policy whenever traveling, be it business or pleasure in any part of the world. You may be safe on the streets -- however what about your hotel room? If it's a nice place, sure, you can stash things in the hotel safe, but why bother with the hassle?

I only take what will never come off. Small stud earrings, one unobtrusive choker necklace, one watch, one bracelet, and my rings.

I don't take any jewelry. I don't want any extra attention and certainly don't want to look like I have anything to steal. When I travel, I only take my Swatch watch. I'm getting married soon, so then I'll wear my wedding ring but it's just a gold band. But, I live in Germany and wear whatever I want around here!

A totally contrarian opinion - I take relative few clothes (no more than 12 pieces of clothing no matter how long the trip) but I take a lot of scarves and jewelry - nothing that costs very much (usually lots of craft jewelry from Morocco, Tibet etc.) and nothing that has any sort of resale value. If I lost the entire load, I wouldn't cry. It's not very big, it doesn't weigh much, and makes all the difference in how some clothes look. Now are you completely confused?

When I travel, I want to look like a tastefully dressed poor person. So the engagement ring stays home. Costume jewelry studs in the ears, and nothing else. I've had thieves size me up in Italy and move on to more lucrative looking targets. I don't totally buy the idea that there is any jewelry that won't come off. I'd surrender anything at knife point, and I'd probably give it up if a mean looking person told me to hand it over.

I, too, only take costume jewelry when traveling - I even have a cheap LCD watch that's always set for Paris time. Like rlk, I don't take anything I'd regret losing. If I lose my good watch at home, I think "I lost my watch in November". If I lose it on a trip, I think "oh that was the trip where I lost my watch"...not exactly the memory I want. <BR> <BR>Cindy has the right idea; never fight for property. If somebody wants jewelry, your purse, whatever, give it to them.

Let me clarify my 'doesn't come off' comment - I wear jewelry that I don't have to take off and leave in the hotel room at any time. Shower with it, sleep with it, etc. If someone held me up at knife point and absolutely had to have my cheap stud earrings, they can have em.

I wear the same jewelry I normally wear home and to work, etc.. Afterall you do not say "I'm going to the mall and they have had incidents of robberies there in the past so I won't wear my engagement ring". I always wear my rings and they are lovely looking diamonds and I;ve never felt threatened because I had them on in Europe. I usually take a gold chain or two when traveling, but not the most expensive in the world primarily because if I lose it I don't want to feel bad! (I've lost a chain here at work so it can happen anyplace if the clasp breaks). I usually wear one of my "regular" watches as well. Just go and relax, wear what you wear at home or if you were going anyplace in the U.S. for that matter, most of us do not change the way we dress or our jewelry to visit another part of the U.S.

Apart from theft, before packing anything, consider how you would feel if it were left behind, misplaced, dropped down a drain, etc. Even favorite costume jewelry perhaps should be left home for this reason. I have a friend who wore diamond studs on a cruise, left them on a ledge in the room and never saw them again. While it could have been theft, it may also have been that they just slipped behind the bed. To me, accessorizing isn't worth it!

I too leave my good jewelry at home. I normally will wear all fake stuff or bring one or two less expensive gold pairs of earrings. The way I feel about it is that wearing my nice jewelry won't make my trip any more enjoyable. Losing the jewelry or being a victim of crime would certainly put a damper on the trip so it just isn't worth it! <BR>ellen

While Lori is correct that one could get mugged anywhere, the risk of theft is higher while on vacation. You are distracted and tired. You don't know where you are going. You might not speak the language. You are immediately identifiable as someone who ought to have a lot of cash. You don't know the bad neighborhoods. You are on foot. Strangers have access to your temporary home. Your luggage is often out of your possession. In many places, stripping tourists is a thriving profession. Do what you wish, but just know that driving to the mall in your locked car to visit Walmart in the suburbs is a far cry from having a hoard of children go after your valuables.

Lori, you're still missing the point a bit. Even if you're willing to lose it, almost any kind of jewelry makes you look like a mark. How does the thief know if it is valuable or not? Believe me, you'd be shaken if a thief was attracted to you by your jewerly and took that or anything else from you.

BP, <BR>I have been struggling with this issue myself. My fiancee and I are going to Rome and Venice in October and I would hate for her ring to be stolen. On the other hand, no pun intended, she loves wearing it and it looks enough like a wedding ring that we can avoid any raised eyes while sleeping in the bed "matrimonio" style. <BR> <BR>As far as jewelry being removeable, I would remind everyone of the unfortunate incident some years back when a robber broke the golfer, Jan Stephenson's finger to get her engagement ring. Her game took a long time to recover and I am not sure she ever emotionally got over it. Just saying you don't care if you lose something or not, as 'asdf' pointed out, is not the entire story. <BR> <BR>Anyway, have fun and don't worry too much about it. <BR>ciao, <BR>luigi

Dear asdf, <BR>I live in NY, and work in NYC. I have been the victim of crime - so don't preach to me about 'being shaken' if a thief was attracted to me or my jewelry. It was a horrible experience, but I put it behind me and went on living my life. You can't live in a glass bubble.

asdf, I don't think I'm missing the point. Crime happens, but you cannot stop living either because of it, just take reasonable precautions. Next time you are in Europe look around at the "natives" and see that they are wearing rings, watches, carrying purses, driving decent cars, etc. just like we do in the U.S. Anyone, at anytime can be a mark, frankly, this is one reason why "blending in" makes sense, if you don't dress like a tourist you are less apt to be noticed in the crowd. All the other points we've covered in this Forum apply as well - wandering about on dimly lighted streets at 2:00 a.m. is a no-no, standing on a street corner looking and acting lost while clutching a map and not paying any attention to your surroundings might get your purse or wallet stolen, etc. Common sense needs to prevail. <BR> <BR>You can leave your jewelery home and have your house robbed too. Certainly you can put your good stuff in a safe deposit box in the bank while traveling if you feel that strongly about it and I do keep some pieces in my box, but I also have some at home because I wear them frequently. A friend of mine just returned from Italy, she wore her rings, earings, etc. and had no problems, then again I know someone who had their purse stolen in a small town cafe in New Mexico .. don't ever let up your guard is a safe motto. I do agree that things can happen and if you personally feel so strongly about the possibility of being mugged/robbed etc. then you can leave everything at home and wear costume jewelry, but remember a not so clever thief may mistake your fake jewelry for the real thing too. <BR> <BR>Just go and enjoy yourself and use common sense precautions. If you do not put yourself in situations where problems could arise you have half the battle won.

The only jewelry I wear is my wedding and engagement rings; I am sickenly sentimental about them, and have never removed them. Really. A sympathetic OR nurse wrapped them in tape for me when I had surgery a few years ago. When we travel and we're out and about, I turn around the engagement ring to hide the stones; I guess I feel it helps. Probably risky, but everything is... OK, you all can start yelling at me now.

Some of your people might think about locking yourself in your house and never leaving. You are all paranoid. If you think there are no muggers in your home towns you are all sadly mistaken. Get real already.