Hublot Offers NFC Authentication for Watches
If you’ve found a great deal on a Hublot watch but are wondering whether it’s the real deal, the Swiss brand has a new way to authenticate your purchase before you put down your money. The brand is offering a service that allows buyers of the luxury timepieces to certify the authenticity of their watches, download manuals or register for the exclusive Hublotista Club with just the tap of a card.
Hublot has partnered with electronic security specialist Wisekey to create an NFC (near field technology) card that “acts as the watch’s passport provided in every watch box. The Hublot NFCTrusted card incorporates a cryptographically secure Wisekey digital certificate stored in its secure element,” according to a Wisekey security expert.
“The certificate issuance operation is carried out by Hublot during the manufacturing process,” he continued. “More than 850 points of sale across the world are now equipped with the system which enables them to read and activate these new NFCTrusted cards.”
There are two types of NFC cards, a black one for watches and a red one for Hublot retailers. The red card, which contains a digital certificate that is unique to each retailer, is used to access the Hublot Sellout platform. When a customer chooses to purchase a Hublot watch, the corresponding black card is activated by the NFC reader, which also activates the warranty card. When the sale is complete, the black card is then given to the buyer for future use.
Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver stated, “This combination provides a secure and mobile solution which is impossible to forge or reproduce.” While this system may not be totally foolproof, it does sound like a major weapon in the war on piracy. Now Hublot owners can be sure that the watch they buy is the real thing rather than a counterfeit.
