Hanspeter Pieth, Delegate of the Board of Directors at Meister 1881, has joined Haelixa’s Advisory Board, bringing more than three decades of experience across Swiss watchmaking, jewellery retail and luxury manufacturing.
Haelixa is pleased to welcome Hanspeter Pieth to its Advisory Board. His appointment adds practical, end-to-end insight into the watch and jewellery sector as Haelixa expands ProofDNA™, its DNA-based authentication solution for high-value goods.
Pieth is a Board Member at Estima AG, a Grenchen-based manufacturer of high-quality watch components, and Delegate of the Board of Directors at Meister 1881, the Swiss luxury house with a 140-year heritage. He also serves as Board Member and Group Advisor at KDDL Limited, an India-based group active in watch retail and manufacturing.
For luxury brands, authenticity is not only a question of craftsmanship or product quality. It matters across manufacturing, retail, after-sales, resale and returns. Every point at which an item changes hands is a point at which trust may need to be verified.
Experience across the luxury value chain
Pieth’s experience brings together the manufacturing and retail perspectives that are essential to product authentication.
His career includes serving as CEO of Beyer Chronometrie AG, the world’s oldest watch retailer. Across more than three decades in Swiss watch and jewellery retail, he has seen how products move from component manufacturing to the point of sale, and how a brand’s promise needs to hold up long after a customer leaves the boutique.
That perspective is particularly relevant for watches and jewellery, where products can remain in circulation for generations. They may be serviced, gifted, inherited or resold several times. The ability to verify an item throughout its lifecycle is therefore becoming increasingly important.
ProofDNA™ is designed to support that need. It embeds an invisible, brand-unique DNA marker directly on the product, creating physical evidence that remains with the item. Authentication can be carried out through a simple surface swab and on-site qPCR analysis, giving brands a clear result when they need to verify authenticity.
For brands, this creates an additional layer of confidence wherever a product is questioned, returned, serviced or sold again.
Product-level proof for high-value goods
Documentation, product records and digital tools can all support traceability. But the physical item also needs to be part of the verification process.
ProofDNA™ places the marker directly on the product, rather than relying solely on a label, packaging or digital link. This helps brands build a stronger connection between product information and the item itself.
The approach can support authentication across watches, jewellery, gemstones and precious materials, without affecting the appearance or quality of the product.
As Pieth explains:
“As Group Advisor to KDDL and Board Member at Estima, I think about precision and quality at the component level. At Meister 1881, where I’m Delegate of the Board, that same standard has to hold up in front of the client years later. Haelixa’s DNA marker is one of the few technologies I’ve encountered that speaks to both of those worlds at once. I’m glad to bring that dual perspective to the team as they bring their authenticity solution to manufacturers and retailers alike.”
Bringing together manufacturing and retail insight
Pieth joins Haelixa at a time when physical authentication is becoming more relevant to the luxury sector.
The challenge is not limited to identifying a product at the moment it leaves the factory. Brands also need practical ways to confirm authenticity later, whether in a boutique, service centre, warehouse, resale environment or during a brand-protection investigation.
His experience across components, retail and customer trust will help Haelixa keep that full lifecycle in view as ProofDNA™ develops further within the watch and jewellery markets.
Patrick Strumpf, CEO of Haelixa, said:
“Hanspeter brings a unique perspective across the luxury value chain. His deep understanding of the watch and jewellery ecosystem will play a critical role as we scale Haelixa’s physical authentication technology.”
Building confidence throughout a product’s lifecycle
For watches and jewellery, authenticity must be able to stand the test of time.
Hanspeter Pieth’s appointment strengthens Haelixa’s ability to work with manufacturers, retailers and luxury brands on a shared challenge: creating a reliable way to confirm that the product in front of them is genuine.
With his insight and Haelixa’s DNA marker technology, ProofDNA™ is well positioned to help make product-level authentication a more practical part of the luxury experience, from the first sale to the next generation of ownership.
