NFT CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY:
token, record and physical object

ERC-721 defines a common interface for non-fungible tokens. Within a given contract, a token ID identifies one token; in practice the contract address and token ID are read together. The standard provides ways to determine an on-chain owner and to transfer control. It may expose a token URI pointing to metadata.

That URI is a reference, not the physical object and not necessarily permanent. The standard allows metadata but does not prescribe the truth of an authenticity claim, the storage durability of images or documents, or the procedure connecting a token to a serial-numbered watch. Those properties belong to the issuer’s system.

Issuer to record

The reader needs to know who created the certificate and whether the issuing address or account is controlled by the claimed organisation. A technically valid token minted by an unknown party is only evidence that the party created a token.

Record to object

The certificate should identify the physical item through suitable, non-public and public attributes: reference and serial data, photographs, measured features, embedded chips, secure labels or other identifiers. Each method has failure modes. A copied QR code is not the same as an unclonable link; a serial number can be transcribed incorrectly; a replacement component can alter the object’s state.

Control to possession

Transfer of a token changes the blockchain’s account-level control. It does not automatically deliver the object, settle title under every legal system or confirm that the recipient inspected the item. A transaction process should synchronise digital transfer with physical handover and preserve evidence of both.

A certificate makes a claim about an object at a point in time. A digital product passport is broader: it can organise product information and lifecycle events for different authorised users. The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation describes a data architecture involving product information, data carriers and interoperability. It does not make “digital product passport” synonymous with “NFT”, nor does it impose the same data requirement on every watch or jewel without product-specific rules.

Likewise, owning an NFT is distinct from owning copyright, design rights or other rights in an associated image or work. WIPO’s analysis emphasises that the token and the referenced content must be separated. Any contractual entitlement has to be stated outside the bare ERC-721 ownership record and interpreted in its applicable context.

Arianee’s Panerai case study shows one implementation in which a customer can claim a digital passport and use it to record services or transfer the record. The accompanying image is useful because it presents the physical watch beside the phone-based passport. It remains a vendor-published case study: it demonstrates a workflow, not universal proof that every passport uses the same controls or reaches the same result.

1. Verify the issuer. Obtain the contract address from an official channel and check who controls issuance.
2. Identify the token. Record blockchain, contract address and token ID; a marketplace title alone is insufficient.
3. Inspect metadata. Determine where it is stored, whether it can change, who can change it and what happens if the service closes.
4. Match the object. Compare identifiers and condition with the certificate. Ask how copied, removed or replaced physical links are handled.
5. Read the event history. Separate on-chain transfers from service notes, custody claims and issuer attestations.
6. Coordinate transfer. Make the physical handover, account transfer and any issuer re-registration part of one documented process.
7. Keep conventional evidence. Invoices, service records, expert examination and statutory rights do not become unnecessary because a token exists.