Gold prices reached near-record highs in May, peaking at the $2,067 point, a milestone not achieved since March the previous year. The most recent surge was fuelled by the unsettled negotiations over the US debt ceiling. Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, cautioned that the US economy is in danger of exhausting its cash reserves as soon as the start of June.

Prior to this, the gold prices were buoyed by investor unease stemming from turbulence within the banking sector. This anxiety was primarily incited by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the subsequent acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS (UBSG), which rattled investor confidence.

Short history of gold 

Gold was first discovered by Ancient Egyptians over 4,000 years ago. Throughout centuries the precious metal was used as a store of value and showcase of wealth. In the modern day and age, gold’s demand has expanded to industrial use, most notably in production of electronics. 

As with many commodities, gold’s price is highly influenced by the forces of supply and demand. Yet the yellow metal is also seen as an investment asset, preserving value throughout centuries. Some investors believe in its safe-haven quality and use gold to hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty. 

Gold is denominated in US dollars, which means the precious metal has an inverse relationship with the greenback. The USD strength against other currencies hurts the price of gold as it becomes more expensive and hence less attractive for overseas buyers. Conversely, when the USD is falling in value, it fuels gold demand. 

Gold can be bought as a bullion in its physical form, or traded through financial derivatives. Some investors choose exposure to gold-mining stocks, or gold-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

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Although it is common to believe that safes and vaults are alike, there are distinct differences. This is where terminology can become confusing. Vault and safe are usually interchangeable. In technical terms, a vault can be described as a safe; However, a safe is not called a vault. The same applies to Coca-Cola: all Coca Colas can be sodas, but all Coca-Colas can not be sodas. You get a little idea from this example; the rest are apparent differences we will discuss below. The most common in between both is- They are used to keep your valuables safe.

What Is The Difference Between Them?

Both units are designed by the safe manufacturer to serve the same purpose. But the thing is, how are they different from each other? The construction and installation in your place create critical differences between them. Vaults are usually built into a building’s structure, while safes are freestanding, independent, and portable. Safes can also be installed into walls. A vault is generally treated as a room and reinforced with a steel door or other security standards.

A vault is essentially safe with steroids. While functionally identical, vaults are considered more permanent and specific to their location. A safe can be easily moved or picked up at your convenience on the other side. Safes can be found in homes and smaller businesses. You will most likely need to visit a bank or another establishment with many valuables to find a vault.

A vault is an immovable storage unit built into a structure such as a bank building. On the other hand, a safe is usually smaller and made from metal. Vaults can be as large as rooms and are made from steel-reinforced concrete metal boxes. Vaults can hold much more and larger items. Meanwhile, safes are typically made of steel and are smaller. They can also be carried around with a combination or digital lock. These safes are more affordable, practical, and offer the best security.

Can We Call Vault A Safe?

No. A vault is different from a safe because it has unique features. It is not like a safe. Instead, it has an additional level of security that protects against unauthorised access or damage from natural disasters such as fires, floods, and others. A vault is a wall-mounted unit that cannot be moved from one location to the next. Safes can also be mounted to walls or floors, and you can make them unmovable. A vault is not a large safe despite its many similarities.

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Everyone has important documents that they want to ensure are looked after and fully secure, from financial records through to wills and other legal documents. There are many different options for document safekeeping that people can choose from, some more secure than others.

Whilst a file cabinet or a home safe does provide the reassurance that important documents are filed in an organised way and all together in a safe place, they can still fall victim to certain misfortune. If you are looking to safeguard your documents by using the ultimate protection, Document Safekeeping is the very best option.

What kind of documents?

Throughout your life and your career, it’s inevitable that you’ll pick up copious amounts of documents of significance. These kinds of documents are ones that you want to keep safe but with minimum effort – no changing codes on a weekly basis and no constant worry when you are away from home.

Document Safekeeping provides the ultimate security for all kinds of documents, including:

• Passports
• Titles and deeds
• Wills and letters with instructions for family
• Legal documents
• Birth certificates
• Marriage, divorce and other certificates
• Receipts, invoices and purchase orders
• Insurance policies
• Medical information
• Financial records

The benefits of Document Safekeeping

Total security

Something that shoebox underneath your bed doesn’t have: total security. By using professional services and secure facilities, you can guarantee the very best protection for your important documents.

Our clients are provided with a tamper-evident wallet to contain their valuable documents, which will then be transferred and held in a secure underground vault. On top of this high-level security unit, there are a number of other security systems in place to ensure the safety and protection of these documents at all times. These security systems include:

• Biometric technology
• Digital CCTV cameras
• Encrypted access cards to employees and customers
• Highly-sophisticated alarm and surveillance systems

With this level of protection, you can feel assured that your valuables are safe from burglary and theft at all times, no matter where you are.

Disaster-proof

Natural disasters are unfortunately things beyond our control. Earthquakes and floods (among other things) can seriously damage people’s lives. Homes and personal possessions can be destroyed or damaged beyond repair or recovery with no warning. Our carefully structured vaults decrease risks of destruction.

By opting for professional protection services, you also lower the risk of essential documents and valuables being harmed in any domestic disasters like fires and flooding.

Easy to locate

The knowledge that all of documents of importance or significance are in one place is a huge reassurance to all of our clients. It means they are easy to locate for both the client and the client’s family should they need to. For example, in the unfortunate occurrence of a sudden death could require the family to find a will, or particular instructions.

Easy access

Not only will all your documents be easy to find, but they will be easy to access as well. Don’t think that because they’re shut away in our secure underground vaults that you can only see them on a one-off occasion. No, you are able to come and access your documents as often as you need – and completely free of charge.

Out of sight, and because of our high-level security, out of mind. You’ll never have to worry about losing your passport before travelling, or misplacing essential papers of a work or domestic agreement again.

Eliminate clutter in your home

For the clean-freaks out there, there’s no denying the satisfaction of not having to worry about the huge amount of documents and files you collect over the years. Not only do you have the reassurance that they are safeguarded and under complete security at all times, but you don’t have to worry about keeping them tidy and organised at home.

Receipts and bills can often be discarded carelessly about the home, making them difficult to find and building up clutter. With professional services, you are encouraged to organise your documents as a one-off occasion, before sending them to be kept our underground vaults.

Cost-effective

Document Safekeeping provides customers with a cost-effective solution to keeping their precious files in the safest possible environment. This lowers the risks of damage and theft which can often have very pricey results, and also reduces the costs of home contents insurance too.

You can’t always be there to keep a watchful eye over your home and your possessions which can cause some anxiety, particularly when you consider the risks and threats your home is susceptible to. However, it shouldn’t have to be a constant worry. We go through different options on how you can keep your home and most valuable possessions as secure as possible.

Home Contents Insurance:

Home insurance is made up of two separate entities: building and contents insurance. Organising contents insurance is entirely up to you as it’s not something that is compulsory. That’s why it’s important to know how you can get the very best for your money when it comes to home insurance.

Whatever policy you choose, it will cover everything that you take with you when you move home – items like your furniture, your television, but also your more valuable items that you want to protect from theft or damage.

The most common claims are made after burglaries or fires, but of course flooding has become an increasingly common problem too. Insurance policies and other methods should cover you on all bases, and provide you with the all-round peace of mind that you deserve.

At Sentinel Vaults, we realise that any saving makes a difference, which is why we’ve put together some top tips on how you can reduce the cost of your home contents insurance.

Search the Best Policies:

There are a lot of price comparison websites out there, so it’s worthwhile making the most of them and finding the best insurance policies for you and your possessions. This way you can assess the various quotes and figure out what works well for your circumstances, and the best deals you can get for your budget.

There are so many variations of policies that you can choose from, and prices can depend on many factors, from the area you live in to how much you are insuring. However, many insurance policies often fail to cover the full price of high-value items like works of art, antiques or jewellery, which is always something to consider.

Secure Your Home:

There are a few measures you can take to reduce the risk of unfortunate events like thefts, fires or flood damage to your home. For example, if you are looking to reduce the risk of burglary, you should invest in quality alarms and other security methods to ensure you and your neighbours can be alerted when necessary.

Fitting and maintaining locks and alarms, including fire and smoke alarms, should be an essential in all homes. It’s also beneficial to you, and to the people in your surrounding area, if you sign up to a Neighbourhood Watch regime. This will help to give you peace of mind that your home and your belongings are under watch as much as possible.

Take Care When You’re Not There:

It’s no surprise that your home is at its most vulnerable when you’re not there. Whether you are at work or on holiday, you are essentially leaving your home unguarded. This is why it’s important to secure your home as much as possible to prevent a break-in whilst you are away.

There are some measures – on top of taking out home insurance – that you can take to help give you peace of mind, including quality home security that we’ve already mentioned, as well as some extra precautions that are particularly important when considering your possessions of high worth or high monetary value.

Ensuring that you lock all doors and have alarms and other sources of everyday security installed is worthwhile to any home, as well as making arrangements to present your home as being ‘lived-in’ when you aren’t there. This could include getting a neighbour to park in your driveway, making sure post doesn’t build up on your doorstep, and perhaps having timer switches installed to lights or a radio to make it appear like someone is in.

Safety Deposit Boxes:

Another extra precaution, whether you’re in or out your home, would be to keep your high-value possessions in a safety deposit box, where they will be under constant patrol. By storing your valuables and most-prized possessions away from home, you can avoid their theft or damage from your home and thus, reduce the cost of your home contents insurance. Of course, you want to provide the best security for these valuables, and a safety deposit box can do just that.

Here at Sentinel Vaults, we only offer our customers the very best cover for their items of high importance or high monetary value. Our top security services along with our impressively low insurance policies can save you both worry and money. In fact, the cost of insurance through Sentinel Vaults can cost you a tenth of what it would if you were insuring your valuables at home.

You can find out more about our insurance policies here, and how you can get the peace of mind you deserve with our state-of-the-art security protection.

If you own or are looking to purchase gold bullion, it’s essential that you assess your storage options for your precious metals. Why? Because gold is extremely valuable and you want to avoid any potential risks of it being lost, stolen or damaged in any way.

There are a number of options you can look to for storing your gold bullion, as well as any other precious possessions you may have. Each of the options has pros and cons to a degree, and the best option for you is often dependable on factors such as the size or value of your collection.

At home

Whilst the idea of keeping your precious possessions close to home might seem natural, it is the option that poses the highest number of risks. Realistically, whilst you may want to take full possession of your gold, you are not always there to protect these valuables – not to mention the fact that you don’t always have the ability to protect them.

Of course, those that own gold bullion will know the dangers of divulging any information about the prized possessions stored in their household, however that does not make them safe. Storing your gold bullion at home, in whatever quantity, means that it is more likely to be at risk to theft, fires, and natural disasters.

Whether you have made a large investment in the material or a smaller one, there are tips to take on if you want to store it at home. As we’ve already mentioned, discretion is key – although it is important that someone else is aware of your possession of gold in case of forgetfulness or, worst case scenario, something happens to you.

Home safes are always available and provide a reasonable amount of safety and security for important documents and valuable goods, but they are often the first thing for a thief to look to on an intrusion. Hiding your gold bullion in unexpected places is another approach; secret holes in the wall or fake books may seem like a thing in movies, but it means your gold is far less likely to be ‘stumbled across’.

Allocated storage

Facilities with allocated storage and vaults for gold bullion are available for those that own it. Here it can be stored, sold and bought by many – all from one place. This makes it a particularly popular option for investors in gold bullion that are looking to sell at some point. Having their gold stored in a bullion vault means that it is situated in the prime position, right in the centre of the gold-buying marketplace, making the gold easy to find and easy to sell.

Safe deposit box

A safe deposit box is a popular option for anyone looking for safe and secure storage for their most prized personal possessions. That’s because it offers the ideal combination of high-level security of your goods and accessibility as the owner.

Safe deposit boxes present you with unmatchable security around the clock, avoiding the risks of home intrusion, domestic disasters and natural disasters. This is something that cannot be guaranteed for the average man or woman who stores their gold at home, no matter how good the hiding place is!

With state-of-the-art technology, specialised safe deposit box facilities like Sentinel Vaults, offer the 24-hour protection of your possessions, and one sole place that you can keep all your most important and valuable items that you can access whenever you want. So, not only do safe deposit boxes offer you the peace of mind with the knowledge your goods are safe and secure at all times, they offer you the flexibility that you want as the owner. It’s the hassle-free and convenient storage option that you so rightly deserve.

Get in touch

To find out more about our security services at Sentinel Vaults, get in touch on 01 667 8370 or email us at info@sentinelvaults.ie today – we’d be happy to help.