For any serious watch collector, a quality safe to store them in is a must. And with any serious collector, a appreciation of design and aesthetics applies to all areas of their life. This has opened up a market for bespoke luxury safes to satisfy any connoisseur of luxury watches. With luxury good sales still staying strong among a turbulent economy, the demand to keep one’s valuables has kept rising in recent years, cites a CNN Money article.
In this post I’m going to share the Chronos Luxury Watch Safe, the work of Brown Safe Manufacturing. Started by Frederick Brown in 1980 after serving in the US military, Brown Safe still remains a a proud family-run business today.
The Chronos STG with optional pedestal.
The Chronos safes are constructed with military-grade ballistic armor designed to withstand all known techniques to gain entry, from lock manipulation, armor penetration, heat, fire and full-out blast attacks. The door is 1/2 inch thick with an 1/4 inch armor body, made of the highest grade ballistic steel armor used by the US military. It is also half the weight of regular steel, allowing it to be placed where an conventional steel safe could not due to it’s weight, such as on higher levels of a home or yacht. The body armor is double-welded and interlocked with no seams, so each side is completely bound to each other. Brown Safe tests their armor plating with the US military, and can say that the safe can take multiple .50 caliber anti-tank sniper rounds that no other form of steel could survive.Even with ultra-hard carbide tipped drills have no effect on the armor.
The Chronos luxury watch safe can withstand .50 CAL anti-tank sniper rounds
The door fits flush to the safe, with four-way titanium bolts and an anti-drive system to prevent any attempt at leverage to pry the door open through mechanical or hydraulic means. Any attempt to access the safe lock will trigger a glass plate relocking system. This is a series of sensitive glass plates, that if broken, trigger a number of random relocking pins to seal the door shut. This means that any thief trying to get in will have to find each random pin and disable it, adding days to any professional safe-crackers work. The blueprints of the pins are only known by Brown Safe themselves. Between the door and lock, the main target of any thief, is reinforced with a chip carbide plate. This is a direct counter the ultra-hard carbide drill bits the most serious of thieves would use.
Shown here with Orbita watch winders in custom matte grey and carbon fiber trim.
The lock itself is made from a single block of aerospace grade aluminum with an LCD display. The lock also has an biometric feature, which lets you have the option to open it with your finger print or a code, or both. The safe is then anchored into the floor with four 5/8 thick hardened steel bolts. This gives the thief the nearly impossible option of uproot the safe out of concrete or cut a complete piece of wood flooring and beams.
biometric scanner at the top, middle panel reveals code keypad
And if the thief wanted to pick up the safe and take it with him, he’ll have two options. The Chronos 4218, which is 4 feet high and weights 1350 pounds or the Chronos 6218 at 6 feet high and 1750 pounds. Brown Safe then offers a range of finishes, options and features. The security options include a time lock, crafted in Switzerland by Fabrique d’ Horlogerie de Saint-Blaise. This lets the owner set a time period on how long the watch can’t be open, regardless of fingerprint or code access attempts. A multi-sensor alarm option lets you your home automation system to monitor if the door is open or closed and if the lock is engaged, along with a panic button to alert security or the police. And in case a thief does remove the whole safe, you can have a GPS device that can track it globally.
Note the timing mechanism in the door by Fabrique d' Horlogerie de Saint-Blaise
Inside the ultra-suede lined interior can be matched to a color of your choice, along with custom-stitched patterns or lettering. Then you can pick from a variety of drawer layouts to suit your storage needs. This includes the inside compartments to the drawer sizes themselves, to accommodate watches, jewelry to other prized possessions. To wind your automatic watches while in storage, Orbita watch winders are offered to take the place of a drawer. A watch carousel is an attractive option that also incorporates the Orbita winders, letting you display your watches opposed to having them tucked in drawers.
The Chronos STK with carousel mounted with Orbita watch winders
Additional exterior options include a custom-height pedestal to lift the safe up to a preferred hight. They also offer a bespoke lock, with a cover design of your choice or your monogram. The armor plating can be matched to any color of your choice, including a carbon fiber option to coat the exterior and interior. A nice option for those who wear their watches on their right wrist, the door can be hinged on the left side instead.
The Chronos STG shown with configurable jewelry drawers.
Four trim options are offered for the Chronos watch safe: The STG (steel, titamium, gold) the STK (steel, titanium, black) the STO (steel, titanium, oil-rubbed bronze) and the STP (steel, titanium and pearl). A Lamborghini edition was also offered with carbon fiber trim, giving any Lambo owners the perfect spot to park their keys.
The Chronos with carbon fiber coating and monogrammed lock cover.
The Chronos STP featuring pearl coating.
The Chronos Lamborghini Edtion.
If you’re interested in learning more, please visit Brown Safe Manufacturing.
And if you need any ideas on what you’d fill your Chronos safe with, please feel free to browse our selection.
