No, Rolex is Not Putting Microchips in Watches–But They Have a New Patent to Track Service History

Although Rolex often is perceived as a rather conservative and “non-innovative” brand, they’re actually constantly researching new advancements, and their endless stream of patents proves it. One August 2024 Rolex patent describes an online system for logging a watch’s service history. Aside from Rolex agents, only a user with access to the watch’s warranty card–which contains an NFC–can see the info. If you also possess the watch itself (verified by a phone camera viewing the watch’s serial number) you can even assign your personal data to the watch’s record. Here are our thoughts on Rolex’s new patent for logging watch maintenance data and user data without putting a microchip in your watch.

How Does this Rolex Data Management Patent Work?

Since 2020, Rolex warranty cards have contained an NFC, a tiny battery-free chip that contains a string of unique information acting as an identifier. Hold a phone near a Rolex warranty card and it should recognize the NFC. Under Rolex’s new patented system, it’s likely that the NFC will provide a web address that the user can simply click to view the watch’s service history and owner information (if applicable). You can view the patent yourself here.

The more interesting part of the technology is its use of the “unique identifier” on the watch itself–i.e. the serial number. This new Rolex web infrastructure will be able to identify the serial via your phone camera! Any user with access to both the warranty card and the watch itself should be able to input their personal data–including name and home address–into the watch’s record.

If you bought a watch from Steve Jackson, for example, and scanning the warranty card brings up a webpage on rolex.com that lists Steve Jackson’s info, you can be pretty confident that it’s not stolen. Although the personal info might be useful for anti-theft purposes, it’s also entirely optional if you’d rather not input your data.

Is This a Blockchain Thing?

No, this sounds like a traditional database. In fact Rolex seems to be specifically positioning this new system as a superior alternative to blockchain-based systems. The patent mentions that the non-fungible nature of blockchains can be a problem for applications like this. It seems that Rolex ultimately will have master control over the database if anything needs adjustment.

Does This Involve a New Rolex Mobile App?

No, the patent very clearly states that Rolex views native apps as a barrier to entry and adoption. This is all web-based.

So What Does This Mean?

Overtly, this patent is about improving after-sales service and making maintenance more transparent.

“When a user drops off a watch at a retailer for servicing (after-sales service), it is essential that the user can communicate with the retailer, in particular to agree on quotes and/or actions to be carried out on the watch. These communications are usually made through emails, faxes or telephone calls. These means of communication are now significantly outdated.”

-Rolex Patent WO2024160852A1

So when your watch is in for service, instead of looking at email attachments from a Rolex Service Center, you can just hold your phone near your warranty card and click the link that pops up. If you think “what’s wrong with email attachments?” well, keep in mind that many watches are also sent in for service via an authorized dealer. When the authorized dealer has to act as a middleman for the transaction, communication isn’t always perfect. The vast majority of “Rolex Service Center horror stories” occur via authorized dealers who don’t clearly communicate the owner’s wishes. This should help with that.

This new Rolex data management patent might also help confidence in secondhand sales. Some people think that this is about Rolex trying to exert a more iron grip on the secondhand watch market, but I don’t think Rolex has any problems with their (extremely strong) secondhand market. Grey market dealers like Luxury Bazaar don’t threaten Rolex’s livelihood. What does threaten Rolex is increasingly credible fakes. They don’t want potential pre-owned Rolex shoppers to be scared away by the possibility of getting a fake. Being able to scan your watch and instantly see its service history on Rolex.com could be an interesting way to combat that. We’ll see!

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