Expertise
Certified Safes Ireland™ advisor Alan Donohoe Redd is part of the CEN263 Working Group responsible for writing European Standards for safes and vaults for the European Union
Commercial Jewellery Safes
As an easily disposable asset, jewellery and precious metals are prime targets for burglary, hold-up and internal theft
No matter the scale of a jewellery business, from handmade artisan jewellery to famous luxury brands, a certified safe or strongroom configured for jewellery not only offers high security physical protection, but will often feature preparation for internal lighting, power cable tracks for watch winders, padded pull-out jewellery drawers and internal lockable compartments, as well as preparation for seismic sensors, and anti hold-up features such as duress, time delay and time locking.
From the most basic jewellery safe, to protecting fine art objects, high-end jewellery and gold bullion, Certified Safes Ireland™ employ the same expertise and diligence to ensure each jewellery safe we install provides long-term peace of mind and ease of use.
We have years of experience in providing certified safes and strongrooms for the protection of high value Jewellery, precious metals and art collections and can advise on issues such as multiple staff access control, duress, time locking, time delay locking, 24/7 monitoring and electronic integration features that allow both ease of use and the highest level of European certified protection of high value physical assets for commercial purposes.
Our expertise has been relied on by:
Bvlgari, Boodles, Brown Thomas, Isle of Man Gold Bullion, Stonechat Jewellers, Luisa Verling, Rachel Swan Goldsmiths, McCaul Goldsmiths, and dozens of artisan jewellers all over Ireland ....
Our seminars on safes, strongrooms and HNW secure storage have been part of Continuing Professional Development for underwriters and insurers having been awarded CPD points by the Insurance Institute of Ireland and the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK).
Monitoring & Anti Hold-Up |
Prepared for alarm
It is increasingly common to link jewellery safes or strongrooms directly with an intruder alarm system, in most cases using seismic sensors, with duress also being a popular option. Even if you do not intend to do this straight away, or an insurance company has not requested this integration, it is always a good idea to make sure that a jewellery safe or strongroom is prepared for intruder alarm, seismic sensor, and duress integration to future proof any investment.
With the exception of some of our smallest safes, most of our safes come with certified alarm cable tracks and seismic sensor mounting preparation as standard. An alarm cable track can also be quite useful for running watch winder and interior lighting cables.
Wiring should be invisible
A critically important aspect of the addition any type of alarm integration is that all wiring and alarm monitoring devices are kept inside a safe or strongroom protected from tampering and unauthorised view. For a safe, wiring on the outside of a unit is completely unnecessary and an unacceptable security risk. It should not be accepted for the following reasons:
- External wiring advertises the presence of alarm monitoring and the possibility of duress signalling.
- Provides the opportunity to circumvent or tamper with the alarm devices or wiring.
- If it is necessary to connect to a safe lock many technicians will drill through the barrier material of a safe or strongroom, even the door, severely compromising the safe’s security as well as its certification for burglary resistance.
- The possibility of accidental damage to the equipment, particularly in a commercial setting.
- It is not the most attractive approach.
In the case of the safe shown below there is no need for a door loop to carry cables within the safe as this particular model has an integrated VdS certified alarm cable channel. This safe is shown with a draw cable and in the second picture fitted with alarm cable housed inside a stainless steel cable protector.
Locking, Alarm Integration And Monitoring Options |
A digital lock is the starting point for all electronic integration
The starting point for EN50131 compliant alarm integration of a certified safe is of course a certified digital lock. Most certified digital safe locks from class "B" upwards come with a range of basic features which will include alarm module compatibility. Listed below are a range of features, some found as standard in a digital lock and some optional extras that can be achieved with various lock and alarm integration combinations. All options listed are certified compliant with the EN1300 safe lock standard and the EN50131 alarm standard.
Penalty Lockout (Standard Feature) |
| The penalty lockout feature on a certified digital lock shuts the lock down for ten minutes if four or more incorrect codes are entered in a row making manipulation and random code entry attempts virtually impossible. This is a standard feature with all certified digital safe locks which has no equivalent with any mechanical lock type. |
Multi-user Codes (Standard Feature) |
| Most certified digital safe locks have multi-user codes which means no two people have to use the same code to access a safe. In a commercial setting this means an individual code can be removed at will by management. No need to worry that keys may have been copied etc.... |
Dual Codes (Standard Feature) |
| Most certified safe locks will allow or have a version that allows for dual code operation, which means two codes have to be entered to open the lock. Ideal in situations where dual person operation is preferred. |
Duress Silent Alarm (Extra Module Required) |
| Many certified digital locks can be added to your alarm system via an Alarm Module. With an Alarm module in place if a hold-up occurs addition of a digit to the normal access code will trigger a silent alarm. |
Time Delay Option (Standard Feature Class B,C,D) |
| A programmable time delay of 1 to 99 minutes is another standard option in all but the most basic electronic lock models with a time delay opening window that can be set from 1 to 15 minutes. This is a powerful anti hold-up measure. |
Time Lock (Keypad Type) |
| Time Lock gives you all the benefits of a bank level high security time lock system with built in audit. You can control when your safe can be accessed, by whom and download access logs from the lock telling you who opened the safe, when, and how long the safe door and lock was open. Up to 30 holidays can be programmed that override the normal schedule. Automatically adjusts for daylight saving time. We can even program a time lock schedule that restricts specific people’s access. |
Audit Trail (incorporated into most time locks) |
| A powerful feature of many digital locks is an audit trail which can be easily downloaded to a USB drive once you have the correct download code. This tells you who opened the lock, for how long, time, date and if there were any attempts to open the lock with an incorrect code. The standard audit trail is 1000 events. An audit trail can also be downloaded remotely directly from a compatible alarm system using an alarm module bolt position interface. |
Seismic Sensor (Extra Module Required) |
| As a properly anchored safe is secured to at least 5 tons, and a certified digital safe lock cannot be manipulated open, power tool attack or a prising attack is the only option left for a professional burglar. A Seismic Sensor will detect prising, cutting, drilling and heat attacks, but is not triggered by normal everyday use of the safe. What is particularly convenient about a seismic sensor is it is tamper proof and works 24/7 even when an alarm system is switched off. |
One Time Code (requires special lock type and set-up) |
| Easily retro fitted onto most existing safes or strongrooms, a One Time Code system (OTC) means that opening and closing is controlled by single use codes generated by a certified monitoring station after the identity of the person requiring access has been verified. The person accessing the safe or strongroom also requires their own personal code and a special key fob that records the opening and closing state of the lock. Time and date specific one-time codes can be issued in advance by the monitoring station for use within a 15-minute window, weeks, or months in advance. |
Safes Should Be Anchored To At Least 50kN |
Anchoring a safe to EN1143-1
EN1143-1 certification is void for a safe that has not been anchored but some safe installers idea of what constitutes “anchoring” can differ wildly from others. The benchmark for the correct anchoring of a certified safe is a replication of the laboratory test anchoring force. This means an anchor designed to achieve a holding force of 50kN (5.089 tons) for a safe up to grade III and 100kN (11.24 tons) over that grade, holding forces that rule out removing a safe under most circumstances.
All certified safes come with a bolt suitable for achieving these anchoring forces, so it is really down to the installer of the safe being familiar with the correct anchoring method. As with certification, always ask for a certificate of anchorage with the anchoring force the installation was designed to achieve indicated on the document. If an installer can not tell you how such anchoring forces are to be achieved this should be a red flag.
Accredited European Certification |
EU Parliament regulation 765/2008 created the system that provides the legal basis of accreditation for the burglary resistance certification of safes. The ultimate protection against misrepresentation and a legal proof of standard of burglary resistance, accredited European certification is the most important factor in maintaining insurance cover long term, as well as being the basis for all insurance rate recommendations in Europe. If you consider that 70% of safes tested for burglary resistance by accredited European testing labs fail on the first attempt the practical implications of accepting unaccredited claims of burglary resistance are obvious.
These are the logos of the four certification bodies with accreditation to ISO IEC17065 to certify safes to European standards you will most likely encounter on a genuine certification plate in Ireland.
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A safe with properly accredited European certification of burglary resistance will display at least one stamped metal certification plate with one of these logos on the inside of the door. This will always be a stamped metal plate, never a sticker.
An accredited certification plate for a safe will display the word "SAFE" , the standard EN1143-1, and the logo of an accredited certification body (not the manufacturer), the burglary resistance grade in Roman numerals, and most importantly, will often provide confirmation that the certification body is accredited to ISO/IEC 17065.
Protecting Your Confidentiality |
We understand the need for confidentiality
As Government and NATO contractors Certified Safes Ireland™ understand the need for confidentiality and will always respect yours. We guarantee the confidentiality of all of our commercial and private clients. Any photos taken for survey purposes have location data removed and are erased directly after use unless directed otherwise by the client. All booking records and client information pertaining to completed work is anonymised across all of our systems at the end of each month in compliance with the G.D.P.R
For advice call
Certified Safes Ireland™ director Alan Donohoe Redd is a member of the European CEN263 Working Group responsible for writing European Standards for safes, strongrooms (vaults), secure cabinets and physical data protection for the European Union. A registered NATO supplier and a longstanding member of the European Security Systems Association, Alan has a vast range of experience spanning almost 40 years and encompassing installation of safes, strongrooms, physical data protection, CCTV, alarms, access control, secure storage control systems and Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) specification, design, and installation.
Alan is an expert on standards and fraud issues related to secure storage in Europe and the UK, has had articles related to these subjects published by The Law Society Gazette and Irish Broker Magazine, has forced retractions of multiple false claims related to secure storage offerings to the public, including some published by the Irish Times, and has been pivotal in having misleading standards and practises recognised and withdrawn in Ireland, the UK and at a European level.
Standards
All of our safes have accredited European certification of burglary resistance, essential legal proof of standard to maintain insurance cover long term
Documentation
Accredited burglary resistance certification documents are provided with all of our safes. A certificate of anchorage is available on request for all safes we install
Insurance Liaison
We are uniquely qualified to liaise with your insurer regarding certification, alarm integration, or general risk assessment related to your choice of secure storage
