Rolex Is Tired of Thefts and Fake Watches. It Wants to Use NFT Chips and Blockchain Certificates of Authenticity to Stop Them

Rolex is one of the most popular luxury watch manufacturers. However, this fame has made its watches a prime target for theft and counterfeiting. According to WatchPro, the Swiss company plans to patent a tech system that will make it easier to identify whether a watch is original or fake.

Counterfeit watches are becoming increasingly sophisticated. A non-specialist consumer may be unable to identify the difference between an original Rolex watch and a fake one so easily. Therefore, using blockchain technology, Rolex intends to patent a system for integrating NFT chips into its watches. In this way, the company claims it will be able certify the authenticity of its products and improve their traceability in the second-hand market.

Rolex Watches Are the Most Coveted… but Also the Most Counterfeited

Arjen van de Vall, CEO of Watchfinder & Co., a platform that sells pre-owned luxury watches, told Bloomberg that about 10% of Rolexes on the global second-hand market are fakes. “Rolex is the most aspirational luxury watch brand and the highest demand, hence, it’s the most replicated,” he stated.

In addition to the economic damage to the brand caused by fake watches, Rolex and other luxury watchmakers are also putting their reputations on the line. “You see replica or clone watches—very, very high-quality watches—of virtually all of the big luxury brands,” van de Vall added.

Rolex filed a patent application with the Organization Mondiale de la Propriété Intellectuelle earlier this year for a solution that integrates an NFT chip into its watches. These chips are linked to RFID 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.

In Rolex’s patent application, the company says it intends to link an owner’s data to their watch. The brand says it will rely on a mobile app and blockchain technology to track the ownership history of its watches.

Through this app, the rightful owner can prove ownership of the linked watch in the event of theft. It will purportedly act as a secure communication channel.

“When a user drops off a watch at a retailer for maintenance, it is essential that the user can communicate with the retailer, in particular to agree on quotes and/or actions to be planned on the watch. These communications are generally made via emails, faxes or telephone calls. These means of communication are now significantly outdated compared to the possibilities offered by new technologies,” the patent filing says.

Rolex Isn’t the Only Brand Sold on the Idea

Rolex isn't the only brand trying to certify the authenticity of its watches to separate them from counterfeits and protect its customers in case of theft. In its patent application, the brand states that “the same type of solution using blockchain technology from the ‘Arianee’ consortium is used by other watchmaking players.”

This mention refers to the Vacheron Constantin brand’s pilot test of its 2019 Les Collectioneurs collection, which was digitally tagged and tracked to protect it.

“As one of the first watchmakers to ever pilot a digital certificate based upon blockchain technology, in May 2019, the next step for our maison is to extend the digital certification to all of our collections. We are happy to foster the creation of an open innovation ecosystem around blockchain for luxury,” Vacheron Constantin CEO Louis Ferla told WatchPro.

Image | Millenary Watches (Unsplash)

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