(Newser)
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A Swiss watchmaker has broken new ground in the effort to fight fakery, Portfolio reports, using techniques designed to foil currency counterfeiters on a new line of timepieces that run to $50,000. Vacheron Constantin uses laser engraving on tiny components, and coats dials with transparent film printed with tiny characters. “You have to secure a person's investment,” the firm’s CEO says.
The intricacies put the company ahead of knock-off thieves, who have been hot on the heels of such measures as long as there have been pricey watches. “When it comes to printing—whether on the dial or the date wheel—it's just a matter of how much time, effort, and money the counterfeiter is willing to invest to make it look legitimate,” said the head of Sotheby’s New York watch department.
