Watch This!

From the Wall Street Journal, a watch that cannot be counterfeited. Or at least, not yet.

The watch is made by Vacheron Constantin, the venerable Swiss watch maker that first started making watches in 1755. This old school outfit employs cutting edge technology and clever technique to fight counterfeiting. Using "layers of invisible UV marking, laser perforations of some watch parts, special high-security inks, and other measures used to secure passports and currencies like the euro and Swiss franc," Vacheron Constantin has designed the "Quai de l'Ile" watch it claims is "impossible to counterfeit." If you hold the Quai de l'Ile under ultraviolet light, a tiny image of the sun appears between the 1 and 2 on the watchdial.

The article sounds a warning - counterfeiters have become increasingly capable themselves, so Vacheon Constantin's braggadocio may be misplaced. Nevertheless, anti-counterfeiting techniques like these can keep the brand owners one step ahead of the counterfeiters, and that, even if only temporary, is a good thing.

Read the whole thing.

The Sun Never Sets on Counterfeiters

The $600 billion per year counterfeiting problem is detailed in this New York Sun piece by Liz Peek from last week. The article summarizes the problem succinctly:

"Designer goods are just the tip of the iceberg. Sales of all counterfeit goods are estimated at more than $600 billion annually, up from $5.5 billion in 1982.... sales of counterfeit pharmaceuticals now total some $70 billion a year worldwide. Some 35% of the software installed on computers in 2005 was fake, more than $12 billion in copied auto parts are sold annually, and there have been more than one hundred airline crashes caused by fake (and faulty) parts. This is a serious and huge business, threatening the health and safety of people everywhere."

The article then details a two-pronged strategy to deal with counterfeiting. While enforcement at the production level is difficult in China (the epicenter of the counterfeit trade), consumers can be made aware of the counterfeiting link to drug trafficking, child labor and terrorism, while technology can enhance interdiction of counterfeit goods by law enforcement and merchants. Eastman Kodak is specifically noted for its secret innovation that enables law enforcement to distinguish between authentic goods and even "perfect fakes" with a handheld scanner. Noting the $10 billion per year market for such technology, Peek surmises a windfall for those security experts able to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.

Loose Threads

AgResearch, a New Zealand-based research institute, has announced a technological breakthrough to help combat counterfeiting in the apparel industry. This new technology, called Verifi TT, allows its user to distinguish between identical items of clothing, even when the two garments are indistinguishable in fabric, color and pattern.

Costing less than 0.1 percent of the total cost of the fabric Verifi TT can distinguish between two identical articles made of the same fabric, colour and pattern through detection of an otherwise undetectable and unique high-tech thread woven into the garment. The thread can then be read by handheld scanners. AgResearch expects Verifi TT to be on the market within the year.