The parent company of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget has announced the launch of a structure designed to help professionals and individuals combat and reduce the theft of timepieces and jewelry.
Engagement, data et collaboration.
While the 2023 edition of the Watches and Wonders show in Geneva is currently taking place, the Richemont group has just unveiled a new large-scale initiative.
The project was built on a specific ambition: fight crime around watches and jewelry, in particular the problem of the theft of parts. Investment items par excellence, timepieces and jewelry stand out from other luxury categories by their small format that is easy to conceal and their high resale value. At a time of ever-increasing demand, theft remains one of the industry’s biggest pain points despite blockchain-driven operations and digital certificates to protect assets.
In order to counter these acts, the firm Richemont – Cartier, Jaeger-Lecoultre, IWC Schaffhouse, Piaget or even Vacheron Constantin – has just presented Enquirus. The digital platform is displayed as a “space of trust”in the terms mentioned by the group, which makes use of data for the purpose of centralizing information.
Specifically, owners of watches or jewelry, as well as industry professionals, are invited to register their products on the site. The latter already has thousands of documented and preloaded collections of more than 175 brands, all stored in a secure digital vault. Stakeholders can thus report, search and more easily find an item in the event of theft or loss but also check, before buying it, that their used part has not been stolen.
A service enabled by a large network of internationally connected players. The ecosystem includes individuals, houses, manufacturers, second-hand specialists, flea markets and even auctioneers – such as Bonhams -, but also insurance companies – such as LMG Jewelery and Zurich Insurance. Group -, and several law enforcement departments – like the Territorial Security Department of Paris and the Jewelery Service of the Geneva Police.
For Jérôme Lambert, PDG de Richemontthis “reliable solution” can facilitate “cooperation without borders” between these multiple protagonists. “By providing free access to customers and industry partners, the opportunity to sell stolen watches becomes more prohibitive, with the ultimate goal of reducing the incentive to steal” timepieces and jewelry. Proof that hand in hand, high-end activities can fight more sustainably and effectively in favor of a common cause.