A watch’s “life story” can make or break its resale value: Is the timepiece an authentic model or a forgery? Who were the previous owners? Is it intact or have original parts been replaced? Has it been serviced regularly and, if so, by whom?

The conscientious owner may have the watch’s certificate of origin, bearing its serial number, and service records, but if the watch has been handed from one generation to the next or sold several times, the paper trail is often incomplete or missing entirely.

What can watchmakers do? Some are examining blockchain, the distributed ledger system that has underpinned cryptocurrencies since 2009 . While that sounds complicated, it actually just involves recording information permanently on a database, shared by more than one computer, that can be retrieved, but not changed, by authorized people.

Since 2016 Favre-Leuba , said to be the second-oldest Swiss brand after Blancpain , has been creating digital files called tokens through the WISeAuthentic blockchain platform. The tokens include authentication and warranty information, and allow service information to be stored. A few watchmakers, including Hublot, Franck Muller and Chronoswiss , already have accepted cryptocurrencies, and therefore blockchain, as payment for specific new models.