Bitcoin Private Keys engraved in Diamond

[crazy_rabbit]

I wanted to gauge interest in a new project I am putting together. I am setting up a new service where by you can have encrypted bitcoin private keys laser engraved in Diamond for safekeeping and as an ultra-luxury product.

We will be launching a website soon but we will also have a brick-and-mortar store location as well so you can bring in your loose diamonds for engraving, or you can purchase certified loose diamonds through us. Alternatively, we will have expert jewelers on site that can remove and replace diamonds from existing settings (rings for example) if you wanted to engrave on a diamond that is already set in jewelry.

The engraving does not affect any of the diamonds physical characteristics (nor changes its value) and will be microscopic. It will be done directly through our partners in Belgium. For non-local customers, shipping will be done via insured carrier and is safe.

I am interested in what questions the community might have about such a service so that I can have them answered already when we launch the website. It's hard to get any sort of market data on a product so novel such as this. What would you want to know before buying an engraved diamond? I'm all ears and very curious to hear peoples opinions!

[bitcoins...BIIITCOINS]

how much would the service cost?

[marcus_of_augustus]

How do we know you haven't recorded the private key?

[crazy_rabbit]

How do we know you haven't recorded the private key?

When you order you would generate an encrypted private key on your own machine, or potentially on a hardware device like a yubikey. This is the only way to guarantee the security of your key.

Down the road if the service was popular, we would consider a dedicated app or hardware device that would allow you to manage your diamonds

As for price, the basic service would not be so expensive, but long term we would be aiming for a luxury market. We are based in the Czech Republic.

[Gabi]

Uh? If you engrave the key then of course you know it and you can record it!

[John (John K.)]

Uh? If you engrave the key then of course you know it and you can record it!

encrypted private key

[Gabi]

Then you need a second diamond for the password 

[crazy_rabbit]

Uh? If you engrave the key then of course you know it and you can record it!

Hence it being encrypted by the client first. The key on the diamond would be useless for anyone else. :-)

[crazy_rabbit]

Then you need a second diamond for the password 

That's a good idea actually. For rich people who keep the Diamonds in 2 separate places.

[ElectricMucus]

Uh? If you engrave the key then of course you know it and you can record it!

Hence it being encrypted by the client first. The key on the diamond would be useless for anyone else. :-)

There isn't much point to it then. I actually thought of a similar service using a cnc router but discarded the idea for that reason.

[crazy_rabbit]

Uh? If you engrave the key then of course you know it and you can record it!

Hence it being encrypted by the client first. The key on the diamond would be useless for anyone else. :-)

There isn't much point to it then. I actually thought of a similar service using a cnc router but discarded the idea for that reason.

We are working with some talented industrial designers to create special encasings for the diamonds that overcomes this problem. IE: the private key needs only to be hidden from the us the engravers. But the diamond can be held in a special case that in combination with the diamond yields a non-encrypted private key. There are a number of really amazing things that can be done on the really high level to make an incredible product. At the start however we will use encrypted keys. Splitting keys across diamonds is quite interesting as well.

[Blueberry408]

This is so davinci code... Diamond Private Keys with Davinci Code decrypters.  Tres cool.

Uh? If you engrave the key then of course you know it and you can record it!

Hence it being encrypted by the client first. The key on the diamond would be useless for anyone else. :-)

There isn't much point to it then. I actually thought of a similar service using a cnc router but discarded the idea for that reason.

We are working with some talented industrial designers to create special encasings for the diamonds that overcomes this problem. IE: the private key needs only to be hidden from the us the engravers. But the diamond can be held in a special case that in combination with the diamond yields a non-encrypted private key. There are a number of really amazing things that can be done on the really high level to make an incredible product. At the start however we will use encrypted keys. Splitting keys across diamonds is quite interesting as well.

[crazy_rabbit]

This is so davinci code... Diamond Private Keys with Davinci Code decrypters.  Tres cool.

Thanks, we are hoping that this might have a special appeal for some members of the community.

[Malawi]

I think it seems like a risky idea - you are putting something that others may see as garbage into something that everyone sees as valuable.

A thief would certainly steal a diamond, but probably not a broken plastic toy or whatnot.

If I wanted to have a key engraved, it would rather be into some regular (non corrosive)metal, plastic or glass that will be conceived as a plain object to anyone that is not in the know.
How about a fork with a tooth missing in a "man-drawer" with a key engraved - IMHO that would be much more safe. 

[melvster]

I wanted to gauge interest in a new project I am putting together. I am setting up a new service where by you can have encrypted bitcoin private keys laser engraved in Diamond for safekeeping and as an ultra-luxury product.

We will be launching a website soon but we will also have a brick-and-mortar store location as well so you can bring in your loose diamonds for engraving, or you can purchase certified loose diamonds through us. Alternatively, we will have expert jewelers on site that can remove and replace diamonds from existing settings (rings for example) if you wanted to engrave on a diamond that is already set in jewelry.

The engraving does not affect any of the diamonds physical characteristics (nor changes its value) and will be microscopic. It will be done directly through our partners in Belgium. For non-local customers, shipping will be done via insured carrier and is safe.

I am interested in what questions the community might have about such a service so that I can have them answered already when we launch the website. It's hard to get any sort of market data on a product so novel such as this. What would you want to know before buying an engraved diamond? I'm all ears and very curious to hear peoples opinions!

this http://i.qkme.me/3tryd1.jpg

but seriously, interesting service ... beats a tattoo!

[crazy_rabbit]

I think it seems like a risky idea - you are putting something that others may see as garbage into something that everyone sees as valuable.

A thief would certainly steal a diamond, but probably not a broken plastic toy or whatnot.

If I wanted to have a key engraved, it would rather be into some regular (non corrosive)metal, plastic or glass that will be conceived as a plain object to anyone that is not in the know.
How about a fork with a tooth missing in a "man-drawer" with a key engraved - IMHO that would be much more safe. 

While there are definitely markets for that, the market we are thinking about is an ultra-luxury niche. People who enjoy having things like diamonds and things like bitcoin. While the 'hidden in plain sight' is a good idea, it works with diamonds- wealthy people have quite a lot of diamonds around in general, women in particular. Not to mention, it might be something you enjoy keeping in a safe. After all, the engraving is microscopic- the Diamond does not lose any value by being engraved.

Also, a Diamond is a heck of a lot more durable then a broken plastic toy or really anything else for that matter. With the exception of being shattered (and lasers) they are impervious to pretty much everything else.

Besides that- the cool factor says it all. Who wants a billion dollars stored on a broken plastic toy? :-)

[Come-from-Beyond]

Is it possible to engrave a key on a crystalline lens? Very handy to always have ur key in front of ur eye(s)... 

[crazy_rabbit]

I wanted to gauge interest in a new project I am putting together. I am setting up a new service where by you can have encrypted bitcoin private keys laser engraved in Diamond for safekeeping and as an ultra-luxury product.

We will be launching a website soon but we will also have a brick-and-mortar store location as well so you can bring in your loose diamonds for engraving, or you can purchase certified loose diamonds through us. Alternatively, we will have expert jewelers on site that can remove and replace diamonds from existing settings (rings for example) if you wanted to engrave on a diamond that is already set in jewelry.

The engraving does not affect any of the diamonds physical characteristics (nor changes its value) and will be microscopic. It will be done directly through our partners in Belgium. For non-local customers, shipping will be done via insured carrier and is safe.

I am interested in what questions the community might have about such a service so that I can have them answered already when we launch the website. It's hard to get any sort of market data on a product so novel such as this. What would you want to know before buying an engraved diamond? I'm all ears and very curious to hear peoples opinions!

this http://i.qkme.me/3tryd1.jpg

but seriously, interesting service ... beats a tattoo!

Good point. I think this is relevant for everyone with Bitcoin's. It's an interesting idea as well for mult-sig security. You could for example engrave one signature of a 2 of 3 sig transaction in the diamond. Put it in the bank. Then you could give the other two keys to your wife and your child. If you die, either one would be able to retrieve the bitcoin.

Additionally to response again to the hiding bitcoins in plain sight- if you were to die, there is a much higher chance of your broken toy being overlooked and simply thrown out. No one throws out diamonds, but very few would think to check it with a microscope (unless they were selling it). Also, people are well trained how to treat things like diamonds seriously so someone might safeguard a diamond without even knowing there are bitcoins stored in them, while the same can't be said of a broken toy or some very ordinary looking object. The idea is to hide it in a "seek and you shall find" kind of way.

[crazy_rabbit]

Is it possible to engrave a key on a crystalline lens? Very handy to always have ur key in front of ur eye(s)... 

I think generally it's possible to engrave anything, although if you are talking about engraving it into your eye It might not last. Certainly glass contacts it should be possible.

Speaking about creepy items though- I am talking with someone about what it would take to create sub-dermal implants: RFID chips or the physical sub dermal piercing that could contain your private key below the skin, or even an engraved QR code on the protruding part of some sub-dermal implants.

Needless to say, the popularity of such devices might be quite far off.

[ElectricMucus]

Well if molecular nanotechnology ever takes off at least this method becomes more affordable. :p