Jewelry/Pearl Safe - Recommendations?

[pandaexpress]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good jewelry/pearl safe where home burglars would have a harder time stealing collections? (i.e. they can't just toss it into their bag and take it out of the home too easily).

We rent so we can't realistically get anything that we bolt to the floor (although that would be sweet!)

Thanks!

 

[Bodecia]

It is possibe to buy antique cast iron safes. It would take 2 or 3 men with a very strong furniture trolley to extract one and it would not be easy and make a lot of noise, sweat and blood.

If you shop around you might pick one up at a reasonable price, better if you find an antique shop going out of business. Even small ones are monsters to move.

Otherwise find a good hiding place when you go out. Harder to do than recommend as you hardly want to hide everything every time you need to go out. If home a shotgun might be a good idea

I think being ripped off is always a worry. Mostly we hope for the best but that can be dicey. Insurance is a good idea but read the fine print. Good luck !!!

Dawn - Bodecia
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 and natural pearl collector and all round pearl lover.

 

[Ramona]

I now live in a more rural area of Texas and learned that the best protection according to my new neighbors is 1) a dog and 2) a double barrel large caliber shotgun. The shotgun of course only helps when you are at home. Otherwise I think it depends what type of burglars you have to expect. Those that go around for easy break-ins or those that know what they are doing. To eliminate the first category, I would invest in rendering windows and doors secure. Good locks on both (not the Home Depot type) and reinforcement on the door. You can also install cameras and motion sensors. It is not necessary to hire a company to do surveillance, because my personal experience has been that nobody cares when the alarm goes off. But I would have somebody from a good security company (not the ones that sell the packages) take a look at your place. Even if you rent, the owner will probably allow you to change locks and may even pay part of it. Happened to me when I got too friendly with burglars a couple of years back. A safe may only be a good investment if it is large enough not to be removed as Dawn pointed out already, which makes it a bit of a pain if you rent. Why not rent a safe deposit box for the pieces you rarely wear?

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

A safety deposit box at your local bank is always a good idea for things. Especially for rarely used items. Even occasionally worn items can be picked up or dropped off as conveniently as other banking needs.

 

[pattye]

Probably most jewelry is ok in a safe deposit box, but it is too dry for pearls and probably opals also. Some furniture is built with "secret compartments." I found a piece at a local consignment store. I also have a monitored alarm system, and use it at night and when I am away.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Probably most jewelry is ok in a safe deposit box, but it is too dry for pearls and probably opals also.

Come to think of it, I've heard that discussed here before. Perhaps if they were stored in a cloth bag touched with a few drops of mineral oil, they might hold up better.

 

[Ramona]

Humidor for cigars?

 

[Pearly Shell]

When looking at safes, the salesman said that if the theif is motivated enough, they will usually walk away with the safe if it is not bolted down. If you can't do that, I would go with the safe deposit box at your local bank. I have one and use it for rarely worn pieces but it really comes in handy when we travel. I will put all my jewels that I'm not traveling with in the safe deposit box so it is not vulnerable to break in.

Insurance is a good idea, and take lots of pictures of your jewelry for potential claims.

 

[007]

There are antique chest of drawers that lock. Some of these chests have hidden locking drawers while others have a lock and key for regular drawers. I don't know how secure this really is but I think it is handy for apartments where you can't bolt things down.

Another option might be using a chain and lock to link a safe to something very hard to move (similar to the way universities lock down computers).

You can also lock stuff in big heavy filing cabinets.

 

[lisa c]

I know some are horrified at Americans' propensity for guns, and I felt nothing much was worth shooting someone over. I knew the pros and cons and politics. I didn't know the deep sense of violation and impotence and outrage that comes with a housebreaking, and the feeling of insecurity that lingers.

After my house was broken into, when I was inside, asleep, my attitude changed. My feeling now is, All bets are off. If you break into my house, I owe you nothing. Period. I will never forget the fear of waking up, hearing someone push security measures aside, smelling him as he came up the stairs (he smelled like a deep fat fryer)...fortunately, he was a coward, and took off after I shouted.

I was d**n lucky he did, of course, since I had no weapon and most women aren't even a whisper of a match in strength, even against a small male, even very young/adolescent males. My StepF said just get yourself a baseball bat. I don't think so - I don't want to have to get close enough to use one.

Then, too, living without a car means I have to take buses, and you can't always manage to be home by dark. For that matter, why should one have to be home before dark to be safe? I wish I had the money for a gun and lessons.

Oh, shoot, this might be a taboo political topic for PG.

What would be really cool is one of those twirling walls like we've seen in old movies. That way you wouldn't have to keep hauling heavy pearls all over the place. Just mount your jewelry chest on a gizmo, and when you go out, swing it into the wall. Don't use anything that opens with a remote device, if you do build one of those twirling walls.

BTW, thieves know all about the hide-y holes and freezers and cans and rocks.

 

[Ramona]

I am glad you got away unharmed. I had a similar though less threatening encounter with five burglars. They were also going into my neighbors house, not mine. And I should not have investigated of course. They were not armed, otherwise I probably would not have gotten away, but the resulting fist fight got me thinking afterwards. The problem with a gun is that you have to be comfortable using it. That means in the dark and as automatically as you drive your car. When the gun shop owner saw me handling the semiautomatic, he recommended the shot gun instead. I must say the sound when reloading is impressive. He assured all burglars would run when they hear it. I also changed my attitude since living in Texas. My European friends are horrified when I say I would shoot and ask questions later. But if it is like in your case, I'd rather go out with a fight.

 

[Bodecia]

I totally agree with lisa c and Ramona. Once you have been through a terrifying home invasion it changes your outlook on protection. The law here says one can only use force if one's life is in danger. Problem with that mentality is by then it is too late. A shotgun is easy to use. No lessons needed. Just know where the safety is and always keep it loaded (safely put away). Just holding it would with any luck scare off any burglers or rapists but if it comes down to it. Use it. Worry about the law later. Better to be safe and alive.

Dawn

 

[lisa c]

Thanks, Ramona (good grief 5 intruders? and you rate your experience lower than mine on a fear scale. You are one brave woman! or man? the reference to a fist fight makes me question my assumption that you're a woman, and your profile doesn't give it away?)and Bodecia. I like the idea that just the sound of cocking a weapon sends most criminals scattering. A lot. That way, nobody gets hurt. I don't want to hurt anybody.

Actually, my experience was waaaay high on the lucky-outcome scale, and has a humorous side. I'd been living alone for only a few years, and the house is a big old 4-Square, so it's pretty much free storage for family. My first thought upon waking and hearing the concrete block sliding across the basement floor (additional security, ha ha ha) was that my x, or son was coming in for something left behind. I wondered why the heck they weren't coming in the front door (at 3:30AM!), maybe a key forgotten? So much for being on the ball mentally when coming up from a sound sleep. Not!

I'm still surprised that I went from being such a pacifist (in my youth) to being Almost-a-Hard-A*s. I'm still a Moderate-to-Liberal politically, mostly, just gotten cold and pragmatic re people stepping across home thresholds to commit crime, and any personal assault.

Also, Pandaexpress, I haven't forgotten that you're renting, and I'm thinking along with the others that the quickest fix is to investigate on the web for novel solutions re furniture, or a security person in to evaluate and advise on perimeter protection. 'Course, if it's on the web, crooks can read the info also...

 

[pattye]

The following website addresses many of the issues of home burglary and has good suggestions for increasing security.

http://www.crimedoctor.com/home.htm

My choice of weapon has always been scissors with long blades (I sew.)

 

[lisa c]

Thanks for the link, Pattye!

Back to defensive weapons - any weapon where you have to get close enough to touch the intruder/offender to use it scares the paducah out of me. I don't want them to get that close.

 

[Ramona]

Well, just to highlight the general mood of the Texas public regarding crime. I am spending time on Lake Livingston and the name of the close-by village, which literally consists of 2 gas stations and a post office, is Point Blank. That place is not too far from other inspiring Texas places like Point and Shoot, Cut and Shoot, Gun Barrel City, and Gunsight. One sees there is a beloved theme here. Don't know whether there are any pearls carrying critters in the lake. But I am well protected by free-roaming Dobermans and Pit bulls.

 

[lisa c]

That was LOL funny - Thanks for the belly laugh!

 

[pattye]

Hmm, think I will have a sign made to hang outside my small home calling it Cut and Shoot Cottage.

 

[lisa c]

Ha ha hahaha, gurgles! And post a pic of your friendly puppy of choice alongside!

 

[Narcissa]

Chiming in late, sorry -

Most burglars still look for easy targets, ie no one home. I am looking for a solution that gives me access to my jewelry when I want it, so the bank vault holds papers, but the pretties and sparklies have to be tried on with whatever I decide to wear. That usually means like, which jeans and which sweater.

Unfortunately, my wedding ring and an heirloom ring were stolen from my dresser top jewelry box. The police believe by someone who knows us, or knows of us, and had repeated access. Fortunately, the thief either didn't like pearls or didn't realize their value, and also didn't like my Georg Jensen brooch collection. The wedding ring was the most valuable thing I ever expect to own, but my darling unfortunately views insurance akin to the mob. Of course the sentiment and symbolism are irreplaceable in any event. The best I can come up with now is to count my lucky stars that I wasn't home. And that I still have my pearls.

The thought of sleeping with a shotgun is still far away from my present reality, and we too are renting right now, and so a furniture solution or secret compartment is my next thought, but the details are still an unsolved mystery. Would love more options.