jewelry in europe

The American male is not the only creature who can be persuaded to part with large amounts of cash to adorn the fingers of our better halves.

All over Europe hapless hard working men have receipts from jewellers for rocks the size of goose eggs.

Let me tell you one fact - the US Marine Corps hasn't got anyone tough enough to get my wife's engagement ring off her finger.

Would you wear it travelling in the US? There seems to be the perception that there are more thieves in Europe than anywhere else.....

But I guess the short answer is if you are going to worry about it - leave it at home. But I would wear mine - everywhere, every day.

Wear it. European women wear jewelry, too.

Its never occured to me not to wear my ring on vacation anywhere that I have visited.
I have of course not been everywhere in the world, but I have been to most western Europeon countries, and to me the only risk increase would be some woman like to remove their rings at night and put them on the bedside table. I would not do that travelling anywhere because I would worry about forgetting it.

There is not more chance of someone stealing the ring off your finger in Ireland, France or Netherlands then there is in your own country( which by the way strikes me as more dangerous then Europe)

I agree with the previous posters that Europe is no more prone to crime than the US is (actually Europe is much safer). But . . . that said, an engagement ring may not be as common as you think.

In Germany, they just do wedding rings, none of this large diamond stupidity. So a large diamond ring may catch some notice, but honestly it is highly unlikely that anyone will mug you for it.

EDIT: My comments in this regard are limited to Germany, for this is the area of the world (outside the US) that I am most familiar with

Also, you should have it insured already. Insurance is relatively inexpensive in relation to the cost of the ring and should cover theft or loss.

All this said, when my wife and I travel, she leaves her engagement ring at home, but we both wear our wedding bands. We merely do this out of an abundance of caution because it'd really ruin a trip to europe if it got lost or stolen or even if the diamond innocently came loose and fell out (this does happen).

The only reason I would avoid taking most jewelry to Europe would be I wouldn't want it to "get lost" through airport security. Wearing it in Europe is fine.

Personally, I never travel with diamonds of any kind. I just worry about loosing them. I am one that takes my rings off at night. I don't like sleeping in jewlery.

Several years ago my hubby bought me a simple band, and I wear that when traveling.

Make sure you have insurance on your ring, and a photo or receipt - just in case. Also, have the setting checked by a jeweler before you leave - extra peace of mind- if you decide to wear your ring on vacation.

The first two trips to Europe I travelled ringless because the darn things didn't fit anymore and I hadn't worn them in 10 years! I finally faced reality and had them re-sized last year. We travelled to Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris in April. I was definitely self conscious about them from time to time and found myself twisting them around so the stones were to the inside of my hand. I think my issue was one of travelling on public transportation -- ain't no such thing in most of Los Angeles! Although we marvel at the ease of getting around in Europe and have never had any "incidents", I think being in close quarters on buses and subways is just a new enough experience for us that it caused me to fret a bit. Never occurred to me to leave the engagement ring at home -- we leave for two weeks in Montreal & Quebec next month so I think I'll just wear my wedding ring. Quite frankly, I think I'm much more likely to get mugged in my own alley than on vacation!

I leave my engagement ring at home and wear my wedding band. I always take my rings off at night and I would never want to leave it behind by accident! However if I wasn't taking it off at night I would have no problems wearing it on my travels.

My wife and I each wear one simple wedding ring when we travel.

One obvious risk is losing something important. When you travel you are packing and unpacking and often showering down the hall. It's way too easy to misplace something or leave something behind. The less you carry, the less you have to keep track of.

The other risk is identifying yourself as a good target for potential thieves. When traveling in Mexico we strive for a balance. We try to look nice enough so the police won't give us a second look and not so nice that thieves will give us a second look. I don't worry about the police in Europe but theives are everywhere and they are looking for the easiest target with the biggest reward. Your daypack and mine may have identical contents. If you are wearing expensive jewelry, however, your backpack is the one that will be targeted.

Amber,

Wear it, nobody will cut your finger off to take it.
The only problem I see is if you forget it in a hotel. Most likely it won't be there when you come back to look for.
If it's a big ring, people might stare at it, since European jewelries look differnt than those made in the US, they are much smaller and have different design.

Hello Amber,
I wear my engagement ring all the time. Here's something I do though if I feel unsafe: I turn it the other way round so now its facing my palm. That way, from the outside it looks like it is just a wedding band!

Just don't remove your rings to wash your hands in a public restroom. Last summer, while traveling on a train from Rome to Bari, my daughter found a beautiful ring with huge diamonds in the restroom. She tried to find someone who could speak English and ask passengers if they had lost a ring and to describe it. No one was the least bit interested. She finally turned it over to the train's conductor. I'm sure his wife now has a beautiful ring with huge diamonds! She felt so bad that she couldn't find the rightful owner, but not as bad as the person who lost the ring.

We feel that jewelry is more excess baggage to keep track of as you travel. Given the amount of activity packing, moving around, seeing sights, and possibly physical activities, it is much less worry to leave stuff at home than try to keep track of it while travelling.

Some good points from Ellen, Brad and Paul.

If you value your ring, and it is noticeable, leave it at home.
I take costume jewellery with me to Europe: one pair of earrings to wear everyday, and one fancier pair for evening; one simple watch, one simple bracelet, one simple chain/pendant; all of which I don't mind losing. And all in gold, or all in silver.
Who's going to be impressed, anyway; on a 3 week trip?!

No jewellery is akin to no clothes:-) Sure, I don't wear the Hope Diamond (actually, I don't even like diamonds), but I wear my rings, a bracelet and some sort of necklace. I was a bit uneasy in Palermo one day, when a man was staring at me, but it was only to compliment me on my (rather unusual) necklace. So I suggest that if jewellery is you, then of course wear some.

Gosh, I understand that some parts of Europe "might" be unsafe so one should wear less jewellery and be less flashy, but it sometimes sound like all of Europe is poverty stricken with thieves hanging around every corner waiting to grab/cut off fingers, arms/ears to get an American tourist's jewellery.

I wore a simple white gold bracelet that I tend to wear quite a lot at home, white gold oval shaped diamond hoops (yes, diamonds!), and my wedding/engagement rings. I felt perfectly safe and kept wondering about the wisdom shared here. I think there is too much "panic" and too much "caution" at times to be honest.

There are cities in the US and areas that I would never travel to. You guys have to keep that in mind. America is not the safesty country in the world!

I have to respectfully disagree with the Europe vs America crime comments. There is no argument that Europe is much safer in terms of violent crime. But, tourists have to be EXTRA careful no matter where you go, they are prime targets and thieves can spot you a mile away. This includes Americans traveling to other US cities and Europeans traveling within Europe.

I treat all my domestic & international travel to the Vegas rule, take only what you're willing to lose.

I totally agree with the concept of "take only what you're willing to lose". I learned that lesson the hard way. I'm careful not to wear anything too flash that could mark me as a "wealthy tourist".

I'm also careful not to travel with anything that holds a sentimental value. My travels don't include Grandma's pearls. I'll stick to fakes from Target...that's what Supermodel Tyra Banks says she does...

I just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in Europe and left mine at home - simply so I would not have to worry about losing it. I took one pair of silver earings and wore my wedding band, which is just white gold. That's all I took in the way of jewelry.