It all started when IBM identified Steampunk - steam-powered machinery made popular by the science-fiction genre with its penchant for retro-futuristic inventions - as a hot trend for 2014. The team at Boca do Lobo Exclusive Designs, the luxury furniture house with its penchant for creating contemporary design using traditional craftsmanship, took their cue and came up with an exquisite range of steampunk home safes, complete with watch winders and cigar humidors.
Ah Dh270,970, Baron (pictured) is the most elaborate creation in the Portugal-based firm's collection. Designed in a Victorian futuristic style, the safe draws inspiration from the intricacies of traditional Swiss watchmaking techniques, with a detailed system of cogs and complications, all visible from the outside.
Measuring 102cm by 170cm, the safe weighs in at 320 kilograms and has a depth of 45cm - enough to stack those can't-part-with watch cases and jewellery armoires. The exterior is made up of brass and stainless-steel gears, while the interior features eight watch winders, four drawers and two exhibition stages upholstered in black velvet.
Baron is constructed from rosewood and available in silver and gold versions with a brass, gold and chrome finish, although customised colours and sizes are available for a charge.
Created exclusively to be a jewellery vault, this is the perfect place to store those select, sophisticated pieces, and one that will lend any room a touch of luxe. Of course, the most crucial feature of a safe - and in this case, the coolest - is its locking system. Baron works with a personalised, fully remote-controlled automatic engine.
Other safes in Boca do Lobo's collection include Black Diamond, Millionaire, Bohème and Knox, which range in price from Dh142,960 to Dh237,650.
www.bocadolobo.com
pmunyal@thenational.ae