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Swiss Jeweler RFID-Tagging Inventory
Swiss watch and jewelry maker de Grisogono is using TAGSYS 13.56 MHz tags and interrogators in an RFID tracking and inventory system aimed at increasing accuracy and reducing theft.
By Mary Catherine O'Connor
Feb. 9, 2006—Geneva-based watchmaker and jeweler de Grisogono believes bar codes won't provide the level of accuracy and security the company requires in tracking its inventory of high-value items. Therefore, the company has adopted an item-level RFID system using tags and interrogators from French RFID systems manufacturer TAGSYS and software from Swiss auto-ID software solutions provider Solid.
De Grisogono, a subsidiary of high-end watch and jewelry maker Chopard, has already deployed the system at its stores in Geneva and Paris, and plans to roll it out across all 15 worldwide retail locations by the end of the year, according to Didier Mattalia, sales manager for TAGSYS' Europe Middle East and Asia (EMEA) industry and logistics division. The average retail price of the company's watches and jewelry is €20,000, he says.
De Grisogono's previous inventory tracking method was completely manual and did not even utilize bar codes. The company is now looking to RFID to maintain accurate inventory records and deter theft, independently of de Grisogono's existing security systems.
With the de Grisogono installation, Mattalia says, TAGSYS is helping form a new market for RFID technology. He notes that the volume of tags needed for tracking high-end jewelry is significantly lower than for other item-level tagging, such as Pfizer's Viagra-tracking system (see Pfizer Using RFID to Fight Fake Viagra). TAGSYS and Solid, however, hope to deploy similar systems for other companies that keep frequently updated lists of high-value assets.
To deploy the system, de Grisogono will add a TAGSYS ARIO70-SM 13.56 MHz tag to each product. The tag contains a Philips I-code chip, which can store 512 bits of data and has a read range of a few centimeters. Measuring 13 by 13 millimeters, the tags fasten to small hangtags carrying the de Grisogono logo. A tag attached to an item is encoded with that item's unique ID number, as well as the date of manufacture and an ID correlating to the retail location. All of this information is saved in a Solid database. Linked to each item's ID in the database is the object's description and image.
When on display in a showcase during business hours, tagged watches and jewelry are kept in trays that hold up to 20 items. At the end of each business day, as the trays are taken to the store's safe, they are placed on top of an antenna linked to a TAGSYS Medio L100 RFID interrogator. The interrogator reads all of the tags attached to the items and sends these IDs to the Solid inventory software.
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Feb. 9, 2006—Geneva-based watchmaker and jeweler de Grisogono believes bar codes won't provide the level of accuracy and security the company requires in tracking its inventory of high-value items. Therefore, the company has adopted an item-level RFID system using tags and interrogators from French RFID systems manufacturer TAGSYS and software from Swiss auto-ID software solutions provider Solid.
De Grisogono, a subsidiary of high-end watch and jewelry maker Chopard, has already deployed the system at its stores in Geneva and Paris, and plans to roll it out across all 15 worldwide retail locations by the end of the year, according to Didier Mattalia, sales manager for TAGSYS' Europe Middle East and Asia (EMEA) industry and logistics division. The average retail price of the company's watches and jewelry is €20,000, he says.
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| Didier Mattalia, TAGSYS |
With the de Grisogono installation, Mattalia says, TAGSYS is helping form a new market for RFID technology. He notes that the volume of tags needed for tracking high-end jewelry is significantly lower than for other item-level tagging, such as Pfizer's Viagra-tracking system (see Pfizer Using RFID to Fight Fake Viagra). TAGSYS and Solid, however, hope to deploy similar systems for other companies that keep frequently updated lists of high-value assets.
To deploy the system, de Grisogono will add a TAGSYS ARIO70-SM 13.56 MHz tag to each product. The tag contains a Philips I-code chip, which can store 512 bits of data and has a read range of a few centimeters. Measuring 13 by 13 millimeters, the tags fasten to small hangtags carrying the de Grisogono logo. A tag attached to an item is encoded with that item's unique ID number, as well as the date of manufacture and an ID correlating to the retail location. All of this information is saved in a Solid database. Linked to each item's ID in the database is the object's description and image.
When on display in a showcase during business hours, tagged watches and jewelry are kept in trays that hold up to 20 items. At the end of each business day, as the trays are taken to the store's safe, they are placed on top of an antenna linked to a TAGSYS Medio L100 RFID interrogator. The interrogator reads all of the tags attached to the items and sends these IDs to the Solid inventory software.
