Two keys turn.
One of them is yours.
A numbered box in a Grade VII strongroom, opened only when your key and ours turn together. Between visits, the register is live: enter your access number and PIN to see exactly what is held, valued and insured.
Written about in
What the room is made of
A strongroom is a set of overlapping controls, not a single door. Each is inspected on its own schedule and fails on its own, so no one measure carries the room.
- Biometric entry Two factors at the door
- Dual control Two keys, two people
- Seismic sensing Walls and floor monitored
- Append-only register Entries corrected, never erased
- Underwritten cover Reserve held per class
- Attended transit Custody unbroken in motion
Three rooms, one register
A box sits in one strongroom. The register reads the same from any of them.
- London 1 strongroom
- Berlin 1 strongroom
- Paris 1 strongroom
Attended transit moves a holding between rooms without it leaving custody.
Eight classes, each with its own reserve
The reserve is the share of declared value we hold against a class. It is what makes the cover real rather than nominal, and it is published, not negotiated.
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Bullion and precious metals
Cast and minted bars, grain and sponge. Weighed and assayed on deposit.
- Reserve
- 1.25%
- Insurance
- 0.35%
- Appraisal
- 12 mo
-
Jewellery and gemstones
Set pieces and loose stones, held with their certification.
- Reserve
- 1.75%
- Insurance
- 0.55%
- Appraisal
- 24 mo
-
Deeds and instruments
Title deeds, wills, bearer instruments and archives. Sealed on deposit.
- Reserve
- 0.4%
- Insurance
- 0.1%
-
Horology
Watches and clocks, with winding on request for mechanical pieces.
- Reserve
- 1.6%
- Insurance
- 0.5%
- Appraisal
- 24 mo
-
Coins and medals
Graded and raw coinage, held in inert holders.
- Reserve
- 1.4%
- Insurance
- 0.4%
- Appraisal
- 36 mo
-
Fine art and objects
Works on canvas, paper and panel, crated to museum standard.
- Reserve
- 2.1%
- Insurance
- 0.75%
- Appraisal
- 36 mo
-
Key custody
Seed plates, hardware devices and recovery material. Never networked.
- Reserve
- 0.85%
- Insurance
- 0.2%
-
Heirlooms and effects
Family pieces held without a market valuation, insured at declared value.
- Reserve
- 0.9%
- Insurance
- 0.3%
Four steps, in this order
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Identification
Photo identification and proof of address, verified in the room. We keep certified copies, not originals.
-
Catalogue and weigh
Each item is described, photographed, weighed where relevant, and given a reference. You confirm the declared value.
-
Seal
Items are sealed with a numbered tamper seal. The seal number goes on the register beside the item.
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Credentials
Your access number is issued in writing. Your PIN is set by you at the counter and never travels by email.
The register is live. The strongroom is not.
Two things are deliberately separate. Looking at what you hold is instant and remote. Touching it is neither.
Your access number and PIN open the register from anywhere: every item, its declared value, its reserve, its custody chain. Removing anything requires you at the counter, with identification, and a vault officer turning the second key.
- Remote is read-only
- A live session shows the register. It cannot move, pledge or release anything.
- Sessions are short
- Ten minutes by default, and they close on their own after two minutes idle.
- You are told either way
- Every session sends you a notice, whether or not it was you.
We moved the family holdings here after a bank closed its deposit room with ninety days notice. Eleven years on, the register still reconciles to the item.
Asked before you ask
Can you open my box without me?
No. The strongroom lock takes two keys and we hold only one. Without your key, a box is opened only under a court order, and you are notified unless the order forbids it.
What happens if I lose my PIN?
Come to the counter with identification and set a new one. We cannot tell you the old PIN because we do not store it — only a one-way hash of it.
Is the live register the same as remote access to my box?
No, and the distinction matters. The register tells you what is held. It does not open anything. Nothing leaves a strongroom without a person at the counter.
What is the reserve rate for?
It is the proportion of declared value we hold against your class of holding, which backs the insurance and the replacement undertaking. Rates are published per class and shown on your statement.
Do you know what is in my box?
Only what you catalogue. You may deposit sealed and undeclared, but undeclared holdings are not insured and carry no reserve.
What if I stop paying?
Access continues for ninety days while we write to you. After twelve months unpaid we may apply to the court to open and realise the holdings against the debt. We have done this four times in thirty-one years.
Come and see the room first
Most people decide in the corridor. Book twenty minutes and we will show you the strongroom, the register and the paperwork before you commit to anything.