Rolex gets ready to issue identity chips for its watches?

[Pboned]

Has anyone seen this?


https://www.watchpro.com/rolex-gets-...r-its-watches/

[Jets_fan44]

Interesting

[rmlovett1]

Many questions to be answered…at least I’d have a few…but very interesting.

[1William]

Ok.

[Poodlopogus]

Seems like just an evolution of the current scan-to-activate warranty cards. If you read the article closely, you'll see that there's no proposed chip in the watch itself, only an accompanying card:

"Rolex’s solution allows both retailers and customers to access information via a web page to various specific data of a watch by scanning a card-based chip, similar to a warranty card, using a smartphone camera or QR code."

[brandrea]

Great … now Rolex will track where I buy my lunch

Interesting read OP, thank you for sharing

[NigeG]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Great … now Rolex will track where I buy my lunch

Interesting read OP, thank you for sharing

Just like your Apple Watch can

Whatever next…? A heart monitor so you can see your heart rate increase every time you look at your Rolex? Or your blood pressure rise every time you see “For exhibition only” signs at your trusty AD?


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[brandrea]

Originally Posted by NigeG

Just like your Apple Watch can

Whatever next…? A heart monitor so you can see your heart rate increase every time you look at your Rolex? Or your blood pressure rise every time you see “For exhibition only” signs at your trusty AD?


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Yep, exactly


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[KatGirl]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Great … now Rolex will track where I buy my lunch

Interesting read OP, thank you for sharing

That’s actually what I was thinking. If they can track your watch, they can track you. Not sure I like this idea.

Kat


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[NigeG]

No worse than your Smartphone manufacturer being able to track you, or your Search Engine knowing which websites you’re looking at and where you go next.


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[brandrea]

Originally Posted by KatGirl

That’s actually what I was thinking. If they can track your watch, they can track you. Not sure I like this idea.

Kat


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I guess if nothing else they’ll know if I’m shopping at another brand


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[gamingdoctor]

"And the data is also securely stored on the incorruptible blockchain."

LOL

[Michael T]

“The solution highlighted in the application is a card linked to a watch and equipped with a QR code. It could alternatively be equipped with an NFC (Near Field Communication) chip.”


Cartier uses a QR code to register their watches. It works great and is easy to use.

[2loaded]

It appears a few here did not read the patent application. Poodlopogus is spot on.
I prefer a fedora tin foil hat myself. But not needed for this technology

[TC94]

Originally Posted by NigeG

Just like your Apple Watch can

Whatever next…? A heart monitor so you can see your heart rate increase every time you look at your Rolex? Or your blood pressure rise every time you see “For exhibition only” signs at your trusty AD?

[msdaytona]

https://www.watchpro.com/rolex-gets-...r-its-watches/

Thoughts?

[Hkspwrsche]

As long as it doesn’t turn into a way to control inventory and scarcity I’m good with high level ways of authentication and tracing for theft recovery.

[eugenetsang]

Love/hate the idea. Our watches are "mechanical". Putting a chip inside the watch is pushing the watch towards "smart" watch territory... There has to be a better way to "authenticate" it..

Otherwise, I'll just pick up an apple watch or a Tag smart watch.

[gerry100]

will never buy a product that can be tracked.

Rolex included

[rootbeer7]

Originally Posted by gerry100

will never buy a product that can be tracked.

Rolex included

Unless you posted this using smoke signals, it may just be too late!

[123Blueface]

Originally Posted by rootbeer7

Unless you posted this using smoke signals, it may just be too late!

[joli160]

I don’t see any benefit and not really fond this idea.

[alphadweller]

1984, George Orwell

[WilsdorfNDavis]

Originally Posted by eugenetsang

Love/hate the idea. Our watches are "mechanical". Putting a chip inside the watch is pushing the watch towards "smart" watch territory... There has to be a better way to "authenticate" it..

Otherwise, I'll just pick up an apple watch or a Tag smart watch.

The wording might be a little ambiguous but this sentence says the chip would be in the card:

FTA:

"The solution highlighted in the application is a card linked to a watch and equipped with a QR code. It could alternatively be equipped with an NFC (Near Field Communication) chip"

[NigeG]

Originally Posted by gerry100

will never buy a product that can be tracked.

Rolex included

Do you carry one of these still then?



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[77T]

Originally Posted by NigeG

Do you carry one of these still then?



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Even that is tracked every moment it is connected to a cellular network.


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[Marcjvr]

Originally Posted by eugenetsang

Love/hate the idea. Our watches are "mechanical". Putting a chip inside the watch is pushing the watch towards "smart" watch territory... There has to be a better way to "authenticate" it..

Otherwise, I'll just pick up an apple watch or a Tag smart watch.

+1

No thanks to a Rolex smart watch

[eugenetsang]

Originally Posted by WilsdorfNDavis

The wording might be a little ambiguous but this sentence says the chip would be in the card:

FTA:

"The solution highlighted in the application is a card linked to a watch and equipped with a QR code. It could alternatively be equipped with an NFC (Near Field Communication) chip"

if you look at the diagram, #11 was suppose to be a microchip that links the chip on the card with the smartphone app. Completing the cycle between watch, app, and card.

That's what I've read earlier on another watch site

[77T]

Originally Posted by WilsdorfNDavis

The wording might be a little ambiguous but this sentence says the chip would be in the card:

FTA:

"The solution highlighted in the application is a card linked to a watch and equipped with a QR code. It could alternatively be equipped with an NFC (Near Field Communication) chip"

I can't find the original application at https://patentscope.wipo.int/

But the drawing includes an item identifier 11 which is something in or on the watch midcase, identifier 10.

The most recent patent filing I found is May, 2024 for ceramics in a balance shaft. Much more interesting





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[georgekart]

To everyone saying they don't want their watch tracked, A) the chip is in the card, B) it's low range (can't be read further than a few centimeters away) and C) unless you only use cash, live in a property that can't be tracked back to you (new hotel frequently under new fake ID), use disposable phones and laptops that you destroy after every use, etc you're pretty easy to track. And that's the life most of us wouldn't want to live. It'd be a torture (I'm sure there are spies living like that, but most of us REALLY would not enjoy it.) So yeah, I'm totally fine with Rolex knowing I'm the one who owns the watch and who sent it in to be serviced at a RSC. Hell, maybe it'll be possible to get Rolex to allocate watches to us directly instead of ADs doing the allocation (and presumably if you buy watches, wear them, keep them, send them in to get serviced they'd probably want you as a customer).