What happens when you link NFTs to luxury goods?

In this interview at Web Summit 2022, I spoke with Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel, CEO of Arienne. Ariennne creates NFTs for luxury goods that allow owners to verify their products and even allow them to transfer ownership anonymously, enabling brands to continue communicating with verified owners long after the initial purchase. The system, which has been in development for a long time, actually works for and has included a number of luxury partners.

You can watch the full interview above or read our automatic transcript below.

Automatic transcription

John Biggs:

My name is John Biggs, we are here at Web Summit right now. We speak with the CEO of Arienne. Is that exactly how you pronounce it? So tell us what’s going on in the company. I have heard about it. I heard about a long time ago. Why don’t you describe what you do? And then we’re going to, and then we’re going to talk about what’s happening now.

Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel:

Well, the first thing is that we show our vision. Arienne is a reference to the link, you know, in Greek mythology, we basically think that tokens are going to be the link between brands and communities, and they’re going to help people escape the maze of the centralized internet, bring them data back into their hands and connect them directly to the brands. They love organizations they support, basically offered them the opportunity to have a seamless journey on the internet where they are in control. We started by building an open source layer, the protocol with the UTTT token, an association to manage it, where we welcome brands, Montclere, Brantling, Richemont Group and many others are members of this association and they help us build this common good. . And on top of that, we’ve built a startup and software-as-a-service solutions to allow these brands to use the protocol easily without having to deal with the complexities of the blockchain.

John Biggs:

So the goal is to put almost everything on, on the Blockchain. Right? So if I buy this watch, I will have a virtual NFT. Version of, see, How does it work specifically?

Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel:

Yes, that is our main area of ​​use. We see the organizational opportunity for brands with three use cases number one is what we call the digital product, passport. If you buy well, you get an NFT that comes with it. This NFT comes with all information about your good. But it is also the link to universal services that will enrich your ownership experience. This is the NFT for my watch. You can see here the serial number, the movement you can see in the history when I received it and the repair that I am doing this eh this summer. But the coolest thing is here I can generate in a couple of seconds. A QR code. The unique QR code that will be the proof of my ownership. Anyone can scan it with any phone and see that the proof is valid. This is basically my proof of ownership of this asset. I can link to my wallet to prove that I am the owner. I can show this kur code anytime to enter an event and that’s the coolest part the brand has the ability to message me in my wallet without knowing anything about me without collecting any personal data. They just send a message to my wallet address where this token is told everything that is registered in the token in your wallet. Going to work very well with high-end fashion handbags, jewelry and then every luxury in wine and spirits, also appliances and cars, brands can also symbolize membership and participation and experience. They can issue a token that shows that the user can show the world that they belong to this tribe, that they belong to this brand and be recognized elsewhere. Because of that. We recorded our series in March with Tiger Global. We now have 50 customers. We work with Loreal with Richmond, with Montclair with many many brands.

John Biggs:

Is there ever going to be a chance that the likes of H&M will use you guys? Do you think it works or is it something else?

Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel:

Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think for such a low price point, I’m not sure what organization would be needed for objects that are.