How to Buy the Best Jewelry Safe: A Complete Guide

Washington State has the worst property crime rate in the U.S., according to a recent study conducted by lawyers at the Omega Law Group. Whether you have heirloom rings and diamond necklaces or gold and extra cash, you don’t want to be the victim of a burglary. That’s probably why you’re searching for the best jewelry safe.

Since 1988, we’ve been helping customers find the best high-security safes to protect their valuables. In recent years, more and more customers have been looking for the best safes to protect cash and jewelry as they witness neighbors and friends become victims of home robberies.

If you’re in the market for a jewelry safe, this guide is for you. We’ll cover:

• Why Invest in a Jewelry Safe?

• Key Features to Look for in a Jewelry Safe

• Where to Install Your Jewelry Safe

• Our Top Recommended Jewelry Safes

Why Invest in a Jewelry Safe?

News report after news report details the chilling reality that home break-ins don’t just happen in Hollywood movies. In July of 2024, The News Tribune reported the use of a garage opener for a stolen BMW to break into a home while the owners were overseas. In September of 2024, a spike in burglaries of occupied homes was reported in North Bend by King 5.

Fox 13 released terrifying footage of a burglar sneaking into a master bedroom in October of 2024. The parents — and their three children — slept through the ordeal. This was just one incident from the spree of burglaries in Bellevue’s Lakemont neighborhood.

In addition to break-ins, fire has become an increasing concern for those in the Pacific Northwest (and beyond). Forest fires have ravaged communities. We’ve even seen home fires turn beautiful houses into smoldering rubble.

Simply Put: A jewelry safe is a good investment if you want to protect your valuables.

Key Features to Look for in a Jewelry Safe

We never want customers to regret their purchase, but there’s a common theme among those who do: they bought too small of a safe.

Unlike a home that you can remodel, safes don’t magically get bigger. It’s surprisingly easy to underestimate how big of a safe you’ll need. Some folks misjudge the size of their collection right off the bat. Most commonly, people outgrow their safe as they accumulate more valuables.

When you think about the size and capacity of your jewelry safe, we generally recommend buying as big of a safe as your budget and space allow.

Construction

When it comes right down to it, how a safe is constructed and what it’s constructed from are the most significant contributing factors to its security level. You’ll want to compare several factors, including:

• Gauge of Steel (The lower the number the thicker of steel.)

• Number of Steel Plates

• Thickness of Fire Insulation

• Type of Fire Insulation

Lock Mechanism

Never buy jewelry safes with a key bypass, as it’s a security threat. Rather you want to look for a jewelry safe with a U.L. listed lock. (A U.L. listing is awarded by Underwriters Laboratory, a third-party testing agency founded in 1984.)

All U.L. listed locks have a Magic Mount Template, allowing these locks to be affordably and securely interchanged. This allows you to have your choice of a:

• Digital Lock

• Biometric Lock

• Mechanical Dial Lock

• High Security Key

Please Note: A High Security Key is NOT the same as a key bypass. These keys are difficult (or practically impossible) to duplicate with express permission. The locks associated are highly resistant to being defeated by unscrupulous means. And, these keys do not bypass the safe’s locking mechanism.

Interior Layout

The interior layout of jewelry safes can range widely, especially when you start to customize your safe’s interior. These features can include:

• Necklace Hangers & Key Hooks

• Plushly Lined Drawers

• Fabric Lining

• Interior Lighting

• Watch Winders

• Filing Cabinets

Where to Install Your Jewelry Safe

There’s not a room in the house where we haven’t installed a jewelry safe, including a second-floor master bedroom. Where you install your safe, is ultimately up to you. Popular locations include:

• Master Bedroom

• Master Closet

• Den or Office

• Hallway Closet

The following are also common considerations when thinking about where to install a jewelry safe.

Bolting Down Your Safe

We always recommend bolting down your safe, as this adds an extra layer of security. It’s not uncommon for thieves to knock a safe over to provide more pry leverage. Thieves can also push and shove a safe over your floor and down stairs in an attempt to gain access or steal the safe entirely — damaging your home as they go.

Because safes are bolted down from the inside, moving a bolted down safe is next to impossible without proper access. Does this make it hard to move your safe at a later date? Nope! Once you open the safe, it can be easily unbolted and moved by a professional delivery and installation team.

Hiding Your Safe

Hiding your safe is an extra security precaution. It’s pretty hard to steal what you can’t see. Depending on the size of your safe, hiding it can be easier said than done. By nature, smaller safes are easier to hide. But there are creative ways to hide larger safes, such as a safe cloak (designed for safes 60” tall).

Our Top Recommended Jewelry Safes

There are countless ‘jewelry safes’ out there. Amazon jewelry safes. MyCube smart safes for jewelry. TL rated jewelry safes.

While we’re undeniably in the business of selling safes (and have no shame in saying we hope you buy a safe from us), we also know that it can be hard to determine which safe is the right for you. Drawing on our years of experience selling thousands of safes, we broke down the best jewelry safes by size and value you plan to store.

As you consider these options, we can't stress enough that you want to buy a safe commensurate with the value you’re storing. If you have $10K in jewels, a budget-friendly safe for under $1K doesn’t offer the level of fire protection and burglary protection to meet that value.

Small Jewelry Safes

Medium Jewelry Safes

Large Jewelry Safes

Best Premium Jewelry Safes

If you are storing anything above $50K in value or irreplaceable heirlooms, we would recommend you purchase a TL Rated Commercial Safe. These high-end safes are typically purchased by businesses, as they provide a higher level of protection against fire and theft.

However, due to the weight and dimension of commercial safes, they are not always the right fit for a residential customer. For example if you want to install your safe on the second story of your home, the American Security RF5828X6 would require you to reinforce your floor and have enough space to accommodate the extra deep body.

A lighter alternative to this large TL30x6 safe would be a Fort Knox Safe with additional layers of AR500 or Stainless liners. In our experience, this would give you comparable cutting protection, with a lighter weight that a second story floor could better support.