Rolex is one of the most popular luxury watch manufacturers. This popularity has made its watches more prone to theft and counterfeiting. According to specialized media WatchProThe Swiss company wants to patent a high-tech system that would make it easier to determine whether a Rolex is original or fake.

Counterfeit goods are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so it can be difficult for a non-expert user to distinguish a genuine Rolex watch from a fake. For this reason, Rolex wants to patent a system that would integrate NFT chips based on blockchain technology into its watches to verify the authenticity of watches and increase their traceability in the second-hand market.

Rolex: the most desired…and fake

Arjen van de Vall, CEO of Watchfinder&Co, a portal specializing in luxury watches, said: BloombergThe expert commented that around 10% of Rolexes sold on the global second-hand market are fake. “Rolex is the most desired, most demanded and therefore most imitated luxury watch brand.”

Beyond the economic damage that watch counterfeiting can do to brands, Rolex and other luxury watchmakers are also putting their reputations at risk. “You see replicas or clones of very, very high-quality watches from almost all the major luxury brands,” Van de Vall said.

Information from WatchPro indicated that Rolex had filed a patent application. Organization Mondiale de la Propriété Intellectuelle Last August, a proposal was made for a solution that would integrate an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) chip. The chip can be read using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, which would instantly verify the authenticity of a watch and identify it via blockchain, recording data about a person, a watch and a security key on that chip.

Rolex’s patent application aims to link the owner’s data to their watch using a mobile app and blockchain technology to track the history of their ownership.

Through this application associated with a watch, the legitimate owner, to definitively confirm ownership of the watch It is almost linked to theft and also acts as a secure communication channel.

“When a user leaves his watch at a retailer for servicing, it is important that the user can communicate with him, in particular to agree on the price quotes and/or interventions to be applied to the watch. These communications are usually carried out by email, faxes or telephone calls. These means of communication are now significantly outdated and are not secure or adequately protected. In particular, these means do not guarantee that communication with the actual user of the watch may not be compromised,” states Rolex’s patent application.

Rolex isn’t the only one looking to do this

Rolex isn’t the only brand trying this verify the authenticity of your watches against counterfeiting and protect your customers from theft. The brand states in its patent application that it would be: “The same type of solution used by other watchmaking players, using the blockchain technology of the ‘Arianee’ consortium.”

The phrase refers to the pilot test that the Vacheron Constantin brand carried out on its 2019 Les Collectioneurs collection, which was tagged and digitally tracked to protect them.

“As one of the first watchmakers to test a digital certificate based on blockchain technology in May 2019, the next step will be to extend the digital certificate to all our collections. We are delighted to foster the creation of an open innovation ecosystem around blockchain for luxury,” said Louis Ferla, CEO of Vacheron Constantin. WatchPro.

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Image | Rolex on Unsplash (Markus Spiske)