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Security for our watch collections


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Eyup guys , i trust and hope we are all well. I'd just like bring up the subject of how we protect our precious watch collections and the security measures that we use. I do have a couple of tricks to give out, but before i do that I think it wise to ask if its appropriate to do this here . Afterall the forum is accessible to everyone that uses the internet. And there are some dodgy folk around.

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23 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

 I keep my collection in a bank safe deposit box, never thought of tricks for safe keeping at home, love to learn from your ideas. 

Rgds 

Joe

Hi Joe. Not really to do with keeping your treasured watches safe as we can all find places that no one would discover to hide things in our homes. And home Internet cameras are so cheap these days. I cant remember who it was a week or so ago that was shy about showing off any of his collection, sounded as though he'd been through a bad experience. A violation of your home is not nice even with minium losses but some things can never be replaced.  ive been there a couple of times. My ideas are more about what you actually put on display in your home when your security is bypassed and what you actually make accessible. A thief generally wants to be in and out with his swag with the minium of fuss, If you get my meaning. The average 2 brain celled Burglar unlikely would not have a clue what a particular handful of watches are worth. 

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5 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Hi Joe. Not really to do with keeping your treasured watches safe as we can all find places that no one would discover to hide things in our homes. And home Internet cameras are so cheap these days. I cant remember who it was a week or so ago that was shy about showing off any of his collection, sounded as though he'd been through a bad experience. A violation of your home is not nice even with minium losses but some things can never be replaced.  ive been there a couple of times. My ideas are more about what you actually put on display in your home when your security is bypassed and what you actually make accessible. A thief generally wants to be in and out with his swag with the minium of fuss, If you get my meaning. The average 2 brain celled Burglar unlikely would not have a clue what a particular handful of watches are worth. 

The same applies with keys, in one corner of my kitchen away from outside viewing is a key rack loaded with keys that dont fit anywhere in my house. I think you have to be of the mind that if someone wants to get in your house they probably will find a way. So once inside have little decoys to slow them down during their hunt. They want get away as quick as possible, so no time to check if that laptop actually works. Like i say not nice to have your home violated but some compensation to know that they've left with trash. 

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From training and experience, the best security is misdirection. There is no reasonable way to properly protect a home environment. When I was in the military I was taught how to pick locks and how to get into a building quickly. The “ruffians “ are no less stupid. You can only do your best, that starts with not letting anyone know what you might have.

 

Tom

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I second Tom's assertion about misdirection.  I'm a semi-retired private investigator who used to set up security measures for businesses on the side.  My own watches are *not* easy for me to access (but not time-consuming either) so if a burglar had no idea where to start looking, they could conceivably need to tear my house apart for quite some time before finding any of my watches.  It's not just a simple matter of stashing them in "the last place anyone would look", it's also a matter of forcing the thief to ask "Do I really want to bother with the hassle of checking there?"
You can never get a perfectly secure place; if it can be accessed at all, there exists a thief who can access it.  All you can do is slow them down.  And I made up my mind to slow the potential burglar down as much as possible.  Gives time for the coppers to arrive, you know.

 

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First step in security is 24 hour private security force like Jasper the destroyer.  Second is an American flag and a NRA sticker.

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I just finished this bit of deception. I also have a small safe with rocks in it in the bedroom closet.

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3 hours ago, markr said:

First step in security is 24 hour private security force like Jasper the destroyer.  Second is an American flag and a NRA sticker.

IMG_5218.JPG

I just finished this bit of deception. I also have a small safe with rocks in it in the bedroom closet.

IMG_5219.JPG

IMG_5220.JPG

IMG_5221.JPG

Like the decoy leccy cupboard 👍. Appliances also make great hiding places. I have a lot of gym equipment, some home made gear outside in the back yard, six foot 1/4 ton flipping tyres , pull up bars etc. Dead lift bars with breeze blocks for weights. A burglar is going to be thinking do i really want this home owner to catch me in his house and use my head as a Pez dispenser 😆

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