How to Store Necklaces: The Best Way to Keep Chains Safe and Untangled

Most damage to a necklace happens while it's put away, not while you're wearing it. Tangles, kinks, scratches and tarnish all start in a drawer, a dish or the bottom of a bag.

The good news is that storing a chain properly takes no special kit. Four habits do almost all the work, and the rest comes down to what the necklace is made of and how it's built. Here's the best way to store every kind of necklace, at home and when you travel.

Fastened, laid flat and on its own: the simplest way to store a chain. Featured: the 2mm Cuban chain in 18ct gold and sterling silver.

Jump to:

• Necklace storage options, at a glance
• The four rules of storing a necklace
• Hang or lay flat?
• How to store necklaces by chain type
• How to store necklaces by metal
• Where not to keep them
• How to store necklaces when you travel
• FAQs

Necklace Storage Options at a Glance

The Four Rules of Storing a Necklace

Whatever you keep your jewellery in, these four habits matter more than the storage itself.

1. Fasten the clasp

This is the single most useful habit, and it costs nothing. A closed chain can't thread its own end back through its links, which is what creates tight knots. If you only change one thing, change this.

Fasten the clasp before you put a chain down. It's the one habit that stops most tangles. Featured: the 3mm Figaro chain.

2. One necklace per space

Two chains stored together will find each other. Give each necklace its own hook, section or pouch, and keep fine chains well away from heavier ones. A thin chain works its way between the links of a thick one, and that's the tangle that takes longest to undo.

3. Hang it or lay it flat, never coiled

A chain coiled in a pile or balled in a pouch has slack and movement, which are the two ingredients of every tangle. Hanging or lying straight removes both.

4. Keep it dry, and out of the bathroom

A bathroom shelf is the worst place in most homes for jewellery. Steam, sprays and toothpaste all end up on whatever is sitting there, and humidity speeds up tarnish on sterling silver. A bedroom drawer or wardrobe is better for every metal.

If a chain has already knotted, our guide on how to untangle a necklace goes through the gentlest ways to free it.

Hang or Lay Flat?

Both work for most chains, so choose the one that suits your space.

• Hanging keeps every chain straight and visible, which means you'll actually wear what you own. It suits everyday chains and pendant necklaces. Use one hook per necklace, and hang it by the fastened clasp so it falls in a clean loop.
• Laying flat in a divided tray or a lined drawer is better for fine chains, tennis chains and heavier pieces, and it keeps light and dust off them.

The one firm rule: pearls are always stored flat. Hanging a strand for long periods stretches the thread it's strung on.

How to Store Necklaces by Chain Type

How a chain is built changes how it wants to be stored. Our guide to the types of men's chains covers each style in full.

Fine chains

Chains of 1mm to 2mm, like a Connell or a slim box chain, tangle the most and are the easiest to kink. Fasten them, give them their own section, and never store them with anything heavier.

Fine chains need their own space, away from anything heavier. Featured: the 2mm Round Box chain.

Cuban and curb chains

Heavier links lie flat on their own and rarely tangle, but their weight can scratch softer pieces. Lay them out straight in their own space rather than dropping them in a shared tray.

Rope, Figaro and patterned chains

Twisted and patterned links can kink if they're folded tightly or crushed under other pieces. Hang them, or lay them in a gentle curve rather than a tight coil. See our guides to the rope chain and the Figaro chain for more on how each is made.

Twisted and patterned chains keep their shape best hung or laid out straight. Featured: the 3mm Rope chain.

Tennis chains

A tennis chain is a line of set stones, so store it flat in its own compartment. Stones are hard enough to scratch other jewellery, and a tennis chain dropped on a pile of chains will mark them.

Pendant necklaces and layered sets

Hang a pendant necklace with the pendant at the bottom, or lay it flat with the pendant resting in its own compartment so it can't knock against other pieces. Keep the clasp fastened, so the pendant can't slide off the end. If you wear chains layered, separate them before you put them away. Stored together, two layered chains will be one knot by the next morning.

Separate a layered set before you put it away. Featured: the Compass Set.

How to Store Necklaces by Metal

18K gold or rhodium over stainless steel

The steel core doesn't rust, so storage here is about protecting the finish on top. Store it dry, fastened and on its own, where it won't rub against harder pieces. Our guide on how to clean a gold chain covers keeping the finish at its best.

Sterling silver and gold vermeil

Silver tarnishes, and storage is the biggest thing you can do about it. Keep it closed and dry: a pouch, a lidded box, or a small sealed bag with the air pressed out. Add an anti-tarnish strip if a piece is going away for months. Keep it away from wool, felt and rubber bands, which all speed up tarnish. Gold vermeil is gold over sterling silver, so it wants the same care.

For why this works, see does silver tarnish. For bringing a darkened chain back, see how to clean a silver chain.

Pearls

Pearls are softer than every chain, ring and pendant they might share a box with. Store them flat, on their own, in a soft pouch or a fabric-lined compartment. Keep them away from heat and direct sunlight, and don't seal them in a plastic bag for long periods. Our guide on how to clean pearls covers the rest of their care.

Pearls are the exception to hanging: lay them flat, on their own. Featured: the Rounded Real Pearl Necklace.

Where Not to Keep Them

• The bathroom. Humidity, sprays and toothpaste, and it's the easiest place to knock a chain into a sink.
• A shared dish or bowl. Every piece in it will scratch and tangle every other piece.
• Loose in a pocket or bag. Movement and slack, the two ingredients of every knot.
• A windowsill or a hot car. Heat and sunlight are hard on pearls and on anything with a stone.
• A wool-lined box, for silver. Wool is a sulphur source, and sulphur is what tarnishes silver.

How to Store Necklaces When You Travel

Travel is where most tangles happen, because a bag moves constantly for hours. Four steps sort it:

1. Fasten the clasp.
2. Thread the chain through a drinking straw cut to length. It looks odd, but a chain inside a straw can't knot.
3. Give each necklace its own pouch, and keep pearls in a pouch of their own.
4. Pack it in your hand luggage, not a checked bag.

On holiday, take gold pieces off before the pool or the sea. Our guide to whether jewellery can get wet explains why, and men's holiday jewellery covers what's worth packing.

Keep the Box

The box a chain arrives in is made to hold that piece, so it's one of the best places to keep it. It's closed, it keeps the chain on its own, and it's ready if you ever give the piece as a gift. Our sterling silver Cubans arrive in a luxury gift box, and our Luxury Gift Box and Gift Bag can be added to any order.

A box with a proper lid does the job of a jewellery box for one piece. Featured: the Luxury Gift Box and Gift Bag.

Before a piece goes back in its box, give it a quick wipe with a soft cloth to take off skin oils and sweat. Our Luxury Gift Box and Cleaning Cloth gives you both.

A wipe before it goes away, and a box to keep it in. Featured: the Luxury Gift Box and Cleaning Cloth.

Storing Necklaces: FAQs

What is the best way to store necklaces so they don't tangle?

Fasten the clasp, give each necklace its own space, and store it either hanging or laid flat, never coiled or piled. Most tangles start when a loose chain has a free end and room to move, so closing the clasp and keeping chains apart removes nearly all of them.

Is it better to hang necklaces or lay them flat?

Both work for most chains. Hanging keeps every chain straight and visible, and suits pendant necklaces. Laying flat in a divided tray or drawer suits fine chains, tennis chains and anything heavy. The exception is pearls, which should always be stored flat, because hanging stretches the thread.

How do you store necklaces without a jewellery box?

Use what you already have. A few adhesive hooks inside a wardrobe door, a drawer with a small divided organiser, individual pouches, or the box your chain arrived in all do the job. The rules stay the same: clasp fastened, one necklace per space, somewhere dry.

How should I store a sterling silver necklace?

Closed and dry. A pouch, a lidded box or a small sealed bag with the air pressed out slows tarnish far more than an open dish. Add an anti-tarnish strip if a piece is going away for a while, and keep it away from wool, rubber bands and the bathroom.

Can you store necklaces in plastic bags?

For metal chains, yes. A small sealed bag with the air pressed out is one of the best ways to store sterling silver, and it stops chains touching. Pearls are the exception: don't seal them in plastic for long periods, because it can trap moisture or dry them out.

How do you store a pearl necklace?

Flat, on its own, in a soft pouch or a fabric-lined compartment. Don't hang a pearl strand for long periods, keep it away from harder jewellery that could scratch it, and keep it out of direct sunlight and heat.

How do you store a necklace with a pendant?

Hang it with the pendant at the bottom, or lay it flat with the pendant resting in its own compartment so it can't knock against other pieces. Fasten the clasp either way, so the pendant can't slide off the end of the chain.

How do you pack a necklace for travel?

Fasten the clasp, thread the chain through a drinking straw cut to length, and put it in its own pouch in your hand luggage. Keep each necklace separate, and never pack a chain loose in a bag with other jewellery.

Where to Go From Here

Fasten it, give it its own space, hang it or lay it flat, and keep it out of the bathroom. Do that and a chain stays as good as the day you bought it.

If you're adding to your collection, browse our men's chains, or read our chain length guide to find the right fit first.