Gold, jewelry, paintings: the end of bank vaults raises a real issue regarding wealth preservation

Banks are closing their vaults one after another. For owners of physical gold, watches, or works of art, this is no mere practical detail. The way a tangible asset is stored determines its insurance coverage, its valuation, and, when the time comes, its transfer. Here is a brief guide to a topic that wealth advisors rarely address.
 

A Service on the Verge of Disappearing
Bank safety deposit boxes have long been a fixture. They are disappearing as bank networks are reorganized and branches close. Banks that continue to offer the service are charging more for it, restricting access hours, and closing waiting lists.
 

Crédit Municipal de Paris, through its subsidiary CC ART, is taking the opposite approach by developing a line of individual safes and security cabinets. “Many customers today are looking for an alternative to traditional bank safes, access to which has become more limited,” says Nicolas Chwat, director of CC ART. 

The facility, which specializes in the preservation of works of art, emphasizes conditions tailored to sensitive objects—unlike a traditional vault, where humidity is not controlled.
The context explains the interest: a sustained rise in the price of gold, an appetite for tangible assets, and a generation that is inheriting items whose value they do not know and for which they have no idea where to store them.
 

What a safe deposit box covers—and what it doesn’t
The first misconception—and it’s a costly one. Renting a safe deposit box is not the same as insurance. The bank or service provider generally covers the contents up to a modest fixed limit—often a few thousand euros—unless the value is explicitly declared and the corresponding premium is paid.
 

Without this declaration, a claim, theft, or inheritance dispute will be settled without proof of the contents. Hence the basic rule: photograph each item, keep receipts and certificates, have valuable items appraised, and store the inventory somewhere other than in the safe itself. For works of art and watches, the insurer will require an appraisal dated within the last five years.
 

Second point, one that is often overlooked: valuables kept at home are covered by a specific clause in the comprehensive home insurance policy, with specific coverage limits and security requirements. A gold bar stored in a drawer is, in practice, not insured.
 

Taxation: A Factor in the Decision-
The way you hold an asset influences how you will resell it. For precious metals, two tax regimes coexist. The flat-rate tax applies automatically at 11% of the sale price, plus 0.5% CRDS, regardless of the amount and without the need to provide any justification. The seller may opt instead for the actual capital gains regime, taxed at 36.2%, but with a 5% deduction for each year of ownership beyond the second year, and a total exemption after twenty-two years.
 

This option is available only if you can prove the date and purchase price. Without an invoice, you lose this option. For a gold bar purchased fifteen years ago that has appreciated significantly in value, the difference between the two tax regimes can easily amount to thousands of euros. The purchase invoice is therefore not just an administrative document; it is a tax asset.
 

For jewelry, works of art, collectibles, and antiques, the flat-rate tax is 6% plus 0.5% CRDS, and applies only to sale prices exceeding 5,000 euros. Works of art, moreover, remain excluded from the tax base for real estate wealth tax, which is by no means insignificant for the estates in question.
 

The topic no one talks about: estate planning
Upon death, the tax authorities automatically apply a flat-rate 5% assessment of the estate’s gross assets to value household furnishings. Heirs may substitute this with a detailed notarized inventory, which is often less expensive when the household goods are of little value. However, valuable items kept in a safe are not subject to this flat-rate assessment: they must be declared at their actual value.
 

And the safe deposit box itself poses a practical challenge. Upon the account holder’s death, it remains locked until the notary intervenes—even for a joint account holder. Opening it without following the proper procedure can result in penalties and complicate the probate process. Telling your heirs about it while you’re still alive—along with the address and an inventory of its contents—can save months of complications. This is perhaps the most useful piece of advice in this article—and the least technical.