The three biggest names of the luxury world, LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany, and more), Prada, and Richemont (Cartier, Dunhill, and more), recently came together to an extraordinary meeting. The topic was how to authenticate and validate their original products permanently using blockchain technologies. The outcome was the formation of the private blockchain consortium, Aura.

The world of luxury goods, from watches and pens to handbags and apparel, is plagued with fakes, duplicates, and imitation items. Every big brand can be found selling cheaply on the streets with imitation tags. In the resale and rental markets too, only the knowledgeable can boldly venture out and authenticate the goods with considerable confidence. The solution to this age-old problem may have been found in the recent blockchain technologies, where every transaction is immutable, permanent, and can’t be duplicated.

Proving authenticity

On Aura, every luxury watch or pen could be permanently recorded with a unique ID that will trace even its components from the source of origin, transport, factory processing to sale, and even re-sale markets. The time is not far when a customer only needs to scan the back of a watch to see its e-passport or e-certificate that certifies it as a genuine product of the brand whose name is etched on the product. More than that, every transaction will get recorded permanently on the blockchain.

The Aura Blockchain Consortium “makes it possible for consumers to access product history and proof of authenticity of luxury goods – from sourcing to sales, all the way to second-hand markets,” says its official website.

Aura, the first luxury global blockchain system, reveals the many industry problems that blockchain has the potential to resolve. Aura is also private, but any brand is welcome to become a part of the ecosystem. It is not a business app, and not a new technology, but a partnership service.

Benefits for clients

Aura’s benefits span across proving authenticity, proving ownership of the goods, product history, improving transparency of services, and providing new and better services. The brands also derive several benefits. They can ensure that their standards are implemented, and build greater trust with clients with certificates of genuineness and product history. Finally, protection against counterfeits and getting control of secondhand markets.

For instance, Hublot watches come with an e-warranty attached to the watch and stored on the Aura blockchain. If the watch is stolen, it can be identified with the e-warranty and prevented from being resold.

Permanent, immutable, for hundreds of years…

Aura’s completion is Arianee, an open-source blockchain, where several luxury brands like Richemont, Breitling are members. Arianee is open source and so anyone can join in, or build upon the source code to create their own versions. But that also means all data is public and anyone can scan and track. On the plus side, anyone can use it to verify and authenticate products.

Arianee offers digital passports to luxury brands. Moreover, any brand can use it to build its own interface. Breitling is using it to attach digital IDs to its watches, and these are then used to offer rewards and promotions.

With blockchain comes the added attraction of creating NFTs or non-fungible tokens. Luxury brands have digital clothes and other products that can be attached to tokens and sold.