Adresta, a Swiss distributed ledger technology start-up creates unforgeable authenticity certificates for high-end watches.
Adresta, a Zurich based start-up, digitally connects watch manufacturers with their retailers and end-users by transforming the timeless paper certificates into encrypted digital certificates and so be able to follow the high-end timepiece during its whole lifecycle.
According to the Federation of the Swiss watch industry FH: “Fake watches account for 9% of customs seizures, placing watches second only to textiles as the most counterfeited products.”[1] Large sums of money are invested to counter forgeries.
Adresta’s approach comes with several benefits to the involved stakeholders. A direct communication channel allows the manufacturer and retailer to interact with specific customer groups and provide them with a new range of customer experience. From the watch owners’ perspective, the benefits are multiple: They can easily travel and cross borders with their watches without the risk of incurring in problems and time waste at customs when not carrying their watches certificates with them; they can track their watches servicing; they can even retrieve and identify stolen timepieces and have insurance proof; finally, the seamless history of the watch results in a higher value of the timepiece in the pre-owned market.
Czapek & Cie, a renowned brand in the haute horology segment, is the first watchmaker to partner with Adresta. The discussions between the two companies started in 2019. “The connection and collaboration with Czapek & Cie, a historical Swiss watchmaker reborn as a start-up, was immediate. The company was already considering going digital for their high-end watch certificates. We just had to show them the efficiency of our approach” comments Nicolas Borgeaud, co-founder of the Zurich team.
“For years watchmakers have feared that digitization would spoil the passion for beautiful mechanical timepieces. Today, digitization is put at service of Haute Horology to protect items that defend the state-of-the-art of mechanical intelligence and craftsmanship” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie. “We invite all watchmakers to join this journey with Adresta for the benefit of the whole watch loving community.”
Adresta’s platform for Czapek will be officially released next summer.
Adresta’s adventure started in the Helvetia Insurance incubation program. The jury found the problems addressed by Adresta very important, and that they can be solved by its team and technology. During their journey, the founders had the honour to talk to the well-known, forward-thinking watch guru Jean-Claude Biver, who appreciated the idea and helped the team shape it. “Mr Biver was a valuable endorsement and source for understanding the watchmaking industry and its needs”, says Nicolas Borgeaud.
To see a demonstration of how Adresta’s solution works, visit adresta.ch/explainer.
To see an example watch portfolio, visit demo.adresta.ch
About Adresta
Adresta is a tech start-up with six employees headquartered in Zurich and founded in December 2019. The idea started with two co-founders in the Kickbox Program of Helvetia Insurance and the product was developed together with the third co-founder at ETH Zurich. Adresta creates digital certificates for luxury goods, starting with high-end timepieces. The certificates are securely stored on the web-application together with the history of the watch from manufacturer to service & repair and pre-owned sale. Around the constantly updated digital certificate, new possibilities of customer experience in the luxury segment arise. Brands create emotions and interaction possibilities for the actors in the watch lifecycle and after-sales processes such as valuable insurance are facilitated. Adresta is committed to change the customer experience in the luxury goods industry by creating trust and transparency by combining new technologies.
About Czapek & Cie
François Czapek was a Czech-born Polish watchmaker who fled to Geneva in 1832 after fighting in the Polish uprising. He immediately started his own atelier and in 1839 entered into a partnership with Antoine Norbert de Patek, introducing him to the world of watchmaking. In 1845, at the end of their partnership, he created Czapek & Cie and achieved considerable success. He became the official watchmaker of Napoleon III and opened, what was most likely the first watchmaking boutique on the Place Vendôme in Paris. He wrote a book about watchmaking, but unfortunately, he died before publishing a second one. Czapek & Cie has been revived in 2015 with an exceptional collection, whose leading model won the Public Prize in the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie in Geneva in November 2016. This collection takes its inspiration from an 1850’s Czapek timepiece. It features a beautiful enamel dial and a 7-day proprietary movement perfectly combining craftsmanship with design and exclusivity with rarity. The Company second collection, a suspended Tourbillon with a second time-zone, was launched one year later in 2017, while the first Czapek chronograph Faubourg de Cracovie was unveiled at Baselworld 2018. The company is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.