Sokymat launches RFID tag for jewelry industry

Sokymat SA, supplier of RFID transponders, has announced the launch of an RFID tag designed specifically for the jewelry industry.

Sokymat, in collaboration with The Jewellery Store dmcc (TJS), a Dubai-based service provider to jewelry wholesalers and retailers, has developed a tag that, the company claims, guarantees accurate traceability and quick inventory checks of jewelry, from the manufacturers to the retailers.

The company said in a statement: ‘The new 13.56 MHz RFID tag has a diameter of just 16mm and a thickness of 2.6mm, and has a specific patent-pending feature for tamper evidence. When the tag is attached to the item, it cannot be removed without deactivating it. It is therefore impossible to remove the tag and place it on a different item without leaving electronic or physical evidence of tampering.’

The two companies have been collaborating since 2004, when TJS entrusted Sokymat with developing and supplying a customized RFID product for their needs as service providers to the jewelry industry. This project led to a patented RFID transponder design and successful real world pilot tests, and finally to a full-scale roll out with over one million RFID tags.

TJS, a Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre (DMCC) free zone company, offers jewelry wholesalers and retailers a solution based on Sokymat’s tamper evident RFID tags. The tag allows TJS to guarantee traceability and accurate inventory across the supply chain. With greater accountability for stock, TJS and its partners will offer technology services that will enable enhanced financing and more cost effective insurance solutions to retail and wholesale partners. Retailers can also use the RFID technology to quickly and easily carry out inventory checks in their stores using RFID scanners.

Philippe Held, industry and logistics product manager, Sokymat, commented; ‘It was a very challenging project right from the start. The first challenge was meeting the customer’s wishes in terms of time to market, catching up on the delay caused by unsuccessful attempts by other tag vendors to meet the project’s stringent requirements. The second challenge lay in meeting the actual technical specifications required of the tag: a tamper evident feature, small dimensions, good reading performance and ability to withstand all handling and cleaning process to which jewelry is subjected. I am very proud to say that Sokymat successfully met both challenges with a unique 13.56 MHz tag design.’

Gabriel Nasser, TJS information technology director, explained: ‘Such an ambitious and challenging project requires equally ambitious and professional partners. Sokymat was selected from among a dozen or so tag manufacturers and was easily ahead of its closest competitor. As our partner, Sokymat was initially able to meet our needs and will be able to fulfill our long-term goals. We’ve made a considerable investment in this large order for one million tags so that we achieve a cost per tag that is acceptable. Our customers cannot obtain such a tag from any other vendor.’