The History of CD Cases (Jewel Cases)

After the technical development of the Compact Disc (CD) came to a close around 1981, attention turned to packaging for the new medium. Because CDs had such sensitive surfaces, protection was key. The packaging also needed to provide space for a booklet and be affordable to produce on a large scale. Product development teams in Germany and the Netherlands attempted to solve the puzzle of how to package the CD and were unsuccessful. Then Peter Doodson, who was working for Philips Design in Eindhoven, was asked to brainstorm some new ideas. He came up with a 3-piece polystyrene packaging option. The design was a hit with his peers. Next, teams worked on creating new tools to make the manufacturing of the new case possible on a large scale. When the injection molding machine was finally perfected and the first samples were inspected, the makers found that the resulting CD cases were essentially flawless, giving rise to the name “jewel case.” However, consumer test panels struggled with how to open the case, so they had to be taught how to do so. With that final hurdle cleared, the CD case was rolled out in 1982. The original cases weighed around 100 grams and didn’t break easily, but due to competition, most manufacturers reduced the weight to 68 grams and at this density, CD cases broke relatively easily. (This delicacy is sometimes cited as another reason behind the moniker “jewel case.”) As CDs became more popular, more variants of the CD case were created, including versions with double trays, transparent and colored trays, rotating trays, and more. Still, the original jewel case remained the world standard throughout the era of CDs. Since their introduction in the early 1980s, billions of CD cases have been produced. And while CDs are no longer a dominant form of music media, they are still sold in many areas and are still protected by jewel cases today.