Postage Risks...

[pearlescence]

I won't use special delivery because they lost two items in a week and the hoops they throw at you for compensation are designed to make you go away. Eventually I submitted receipts in chinese and that threw them enough to give me some money, but they only compensate for costs, not your lost profit. I use another company now.
Anything under £50 I use royal mail and accept the occasional loss as a hazard. Sometimes I'll break a single order into separate items and mail them in sep envelopes. I also put the company name on the back, with the post code - a shipment came back next day because I had managed to not stick the label on..... dur
I think sometimes you get told something hasn't arrived when it has. In that case send the replacement by recorded to check, but otherwise don't bother with recorded as there's no compensation for jewellery. likewise don't bother with getting proofs of posting.
I think RM has improved recently though

[ShinyLauren]

I use Special Delivery for UK and International Signed For for everywhere else.

Never had a single thing go missing (touch wood!). I like to be able to give the customer a tracking number and no-one has ever questioned the postage costs.