Ellis James Designs Travel Jewelry Bag Review

We purchased the Ellis James Designs’ Travel Jewelry Bag so our reviewer could put it to the test. Keep reading for our full product review.

If you like to accessorize on vacation, you’ve probably dealt with your fair share of lost earrings and tangled necklaces. While Pinterest has a few hacks for the latter, what you really need is a travel jewelry organizer that can safely store your rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. With various zippered pockets and detachable straps, Ellis James Designs’ Travel Jewelry Bag is a top contender. Here, we put it to the test evaluating its storage capacity, looks, performance, and competition. 

Size and Capacity: Bigger than it looks

Despite its unassuming 9.7 x 6.1 x 2-inch build, this organizer can hold quite a bit of jewelry. Thoughtful design features that pull double duty—like a ring/bracelet holder that also keeps the earring panel in place—save space for additional accessories. In our testing, we were able to fit 16 pairs of earrings (including several pairs of long, dangly earrings) and more than 15 rings and bracelets. Provided you aren’t an overpacker, the average person should be able to pack at least a week’s worth of jewelry in this case. 

If you run out of room on the ring holder or earring panel, there are three zippered pouches as well. The middle pocket and the earring panel can also be snapped in and out, freeing up extra room in the case’s center if needed. In addition to the earrings, bracelets, and rings, we were able to hold five to ten necklaces depending on length (more on that in the section below.) We also stuffed a few smaller beauty and wellness items, like lip gloss, bandages, and cotton swabs into the pockets, and found a surprising amount of useful space. 

The only real qualm we had with the bag was its inability to store chunkier, cuff-style bracelets. With both of the middle panels snapped out, we were able to hold one 2-inch wide bracelet, but it expanded the case to its maximum width. When we tried adding more jewelry, it caused the sides to bulge out. As the case is made from flexible fabric, that worked for short-term use, but it’s possible the bag could lose its form if consistently overpacked.

Performance: Securely held all kinds of jewelry

The most important question with any travel jewelry case is whether it safely and securely stores your delicate accessories, and the Ellis James Designs case passed this test with flying colors. To test the bag, we packed it with seven pairs of earrings, seven necklaces, and a few rings and bracelets, estimating that to be approximately the amount of jewelry we’d bring for a week of travel. 

We first took the bag on a road trip, packing it into our luggage which was stored in the back of our vehicle. After a four-hour drive in each direction, the case hadn’t even shifted in the suitcase, and the jewelry was precisely as we packed it. We then tested the organizer by stowing it in a large purse and carrying it around during a day of running errands. Despite repeatedly tossing the purse into our car, shoving it into shopping carts, and giving the jewelry case plenty of room to bounce around the in the bag, all items once again stayed secure. 

The final test wasn’t so much a real-life scenario, but was extremely informative: We packed the case full, shook it upside-down, martini style, and then tossed the case back and forth between two people for a few rounds. We repeated this three times and can happily report that this case performed exceptionally well. Only one earring came loose during our testing, and upon examination, we found that the metal back on the earring was quite loose in the first place. All other earrings, including teardrop-style, stayed put. 

The rings and bracelets on the strap shifted from one side of the case to the other and made rattling sounds while shaking, but none came loose, nor did they appear to knock anything else loose while moving. The only issue we ran into—and only when shaken martini-style—was that some of the necklaces with longer chains became tangled. The necklace section of the case has four clips on each side, which means longer necklaces need to be wrapped or twisted like a figure-8 around the clips. While this works for most necklaces, those that were too long to be pulled taught became mildly tangled during heavy shaking. Still, they only took a minute to untangle. 

Appearance: Simple and elegant

We love the elegant style of this case. Made from quilted, water-resistant fabric, the bag is simple in design save for color-contrasted piping around the edges. The design is timeless enough to stay in style and should match most powder room color schemes. The inside of the case is off-white and made of durable, tear-proof material, so a rogue earring won’t rip the fabric. The zippers feel strong enough to stand up to heavy use and they didn't snag or pull when rapidly zipped back and forth. We detached and reattached the necklace straps hundreds of times and the snaps didn’t break or lose strength.

Price: Within most budgets

While you can certainly find cheaper jewelry organizers, the Ellis James case merits its roughly $30 price tag. Given its pleasing design, durability, and capacity, it’s a worthwhile one-time investment. 

Competition: Depends on your capacity needs

We highly recommend the Ellis James case, but depending on your needs, it may have a few shortfalls. If you’re tight on space (traveling with just a backpack, perhaps) you may want a smaller option, like the Case Elegance Vegan Leather Travel Jewelry Case. It won’t hold longer necklaces or any kind of chunky jewelry, but it rolls up, which makes it easy to fit in most small bags. If you’re planning on carrying a lot of jewelry or perhaps also want to use it to hold makeup, you may be better served by a hanging case like the Jaimie Jewelry Hanging Organizer. It’s divided into small, zippered pockets, and can easily hang on the back of a hotel room door or shower rod. It’ll hold more items and can be folded over and snapped shut, but even empty and closed, it measures 8.3 x 10.2 inches—making it larger than the Ellis James case.

Want to take a look at some other options? See our guide to the best travel jewelry cases.