I have been thinking about getting a safe for my pocket watches, but have run into some questions on what to be looking for in a safe. My concern currently is not what kind of safe is the best, but I what good they will do for fire protection? with that being said, most of the fire proof safes seem to be tested to keep things at or below 350 degrees for a certain time period. so, my first question is can pocket watches take that kind of heat without major damage? I could see the porcelain dials having some cracks or chips occur, but didn't know how the movement part would fair. any info on this would be appreciated for my look into what kind of safe to get.

also on that note, I have a relative with an old cannonball victor safe that they are looking to get rid of. I would say after looking at the construction that it would take forever to crack it, but didn't know how well it would fair for fire protection. It also makes interesting that it has a 3 movement time lock still in the safe, and know the history of the bank it came out of!

Thanks,

Jared

Hey Jared, I think the watches will be safe as far as the temperature goes,but be sure the safe is big enough and heavy enough that the crooks can't just take the whole safe home with them and crack it at their leisure.

Cecil-

I understand completly. I have a good spot in the 1/2 story basement where i could have concrete on 2 sides and also attach it directly to the floor and walls... would take asomebody at least a while to get it out of there! just didn't know how the temps would affect the watches. I know we have had a few watches come in to be used for parts beside they went thru a fire and its not pretty.

Jared

Hey Jared, Two things. First the safes I have seen advertise that they will withstand 350-400 degrees for at least 30 minutes. I don't think the contents will feel that kind of heat,and 30 minutes is a long time in a fire. Second,were the burned watches that you had in a safe or in a dresser drawer? I have a burned watch also,but it was in a drawer during a house fire. If your safe is in a basement,won't most of the heat be above it anyway,in the event of a fire. Bottom line,I don't think I would be too concerned about fire hurting my watches if they were in a good safe.

I'd be more concerned with humidity in a basement safe than fire damage.

There should be a fire rating underwriters tag somewhere on the safe. I have a Meilink safe and the customer service rep told me it would be fire resistant for several days. The door weighs over 800 lbs...........I bought this safe from a local religious group that no longer was active at their lake front camp grounds and sold me this safe for $125, bargains are out there..

Hello Jared;

One very important thing to remember when storing your watches in a fire-rated safe. Any safe that's fire-rated is also air tight. Therefore every time you close the door on a fire safe you are trapping moist air inside also.

I've been a firearms collector for many years now Jared and I can tell you that if you store (steel) firearms in an airtight fire-rated safe they will rust just as sure as god made liitle green apples.

Since a lot of the parts that make up a fine watch are made from steel, you will have to make certain theat you put some of theose moisture collectors or a de-humidifier in the safe so this won't happen.

I hope this information helps you Jared. I wouldn't want to see any of your fine collectables get rusty.

All the best to you.

Bud