What to con­sider when buy­ing a safe

Whe­ther watches, jewel­lery, important data or docu­ments. Anyone who stores valuable objects unpro­tec­ted at home is taking a risk. To pre­vent this, the purchase of a safe is a good idea. But cau­tion is advi­sed here. Because those who lull them­sel­ves into a false sense of secu­rity risk a rude awa­ke­ning.

Valid cer­ti­fi­ca­tion

Safes should defi­ni­tely be cer­ti­fied accor­ding to the valid EN-1143–1. This means that they have pas­sed num­e­rous tests, secu­rity tests and endu­rance tests. For this pur­pose, the safes are pro­ce­s­sed with sledge ham­mers, wel­ding tor­ches, elec­tric chisels and cut­ting discs, among other things, and thus put to the test. Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion is neces­sary sim­ply so that insu­rance cover can be taken out, if desi­red. The level of insu­rance cover depends on the secu­rity level assi­gned.

Con­side­ra­tion of secu­rity levels

The secu­rity level, also known as the resi­stance grade, pro­vi­des infor­ma­tion about the burglary pro­tec­tion a safe offers. The hig­her the secu­rity level, the grea­ter the load the safe can with­stand. As a buyer, howe­ver, neither the qua­lity nor the secu­rity level can be jud­ged from the out­side. You can get cer­tainty from the sticker atta­ched to the inside of the safe door. It docu­ments, among other things, the resi­stance level but also the weight of the safe. The com­mon secu­rity levels for safes range from l to V.

Unsuc­cessful attack on a high-value WALDIS safe with 17 spent cut­ting discs.

Ancho­ring the safe

Pro­per ancho­ring con­tri­bu­tes signi­fi­cantly to the secu­rity of a safe. Because if burglars manage to remove a safe, they have an infi­nite amount of time to break it open. And they will even­tually suc­ceed in this endea­vour. When pla­cing and instal­ling a safe, it is the­r­e­fore essen­tial to trust the exper­tise of pro­fes­sio­nals.

The right lock

Modern safes are secu­red with an elec­tro­nic com­bi­na­tion lock. In case the code is for­got­ten, the ope­ning code should be locked and depo­si­ted with the notary. A master code does not exist for secu­rity rea­sons. You should defi­ni­tely keep your hands off safes with emer­gency ope­ning keys. At first it seems reassu­ring to have a key at hand to open the safe at any time. But in the event of a burglary, this would tempt thie­ves to turn the entire living space upside down in order to find this key. On the one hand, this crea­tes hope­l­ess chaos, and on the other hand, the chan­ces of suc­cess are sur­pri­sin­gly good: in about 20% of cases, the key is actually found. The pro­s­pect of suc­cess is defacto impos­si­ble with an elec­tro­nic high-secu­rity lock. On the one hand, because the com­bi­na­tion pos­si­bi­li­ties are almost infi­nite, on the other hand, because a time lock sets in after the third wrong entry. And if you want the hig­hest level of secu­rity, you can also equip the safe with alarm pre­pa­ra­tion.

Safe with woo­den inte­rior and LED light­ing.

If you are aware of these facts, you are well pre­pared for the purchase of a safe. Nevert­hel­ess, detailed advice from a spe­cia­list is recom­men­ded. After all, a high-qua­lity safe is a long-term invest­ment — it is not for not­hing that some sup­pliers offer a guarantee against break-in of up to 30 years.

Finally, a small inser­tion regar­ding design: A safe does not only have to be fit for pur­pose — it can also be beau­tiful! Both in terms of colour and inte­rior design, there are num­e­rous opti­ons that make a safe a real gem and show your most valuable things in the best light.