Bulgari unveils luxury NFC smartwatch

The Bulgari Diageno Magnesium luxury smartwatch with NFC

TIME AND DATA: The Diagono Magnesium will operate with the Bulgari Vault app

Italian jewellery brand Bulgari will enter the luxury smartwatch market next year when it launches the NFC-enabled Diagono Magnesium watch – allowing users to make contactless payments, access personal data, as well as unlocking doors at home, at work, or on their own car or yacht.

Working with Swiss encryption specialists Wisekey, which has rented military bunkers in the Swiss Alps to store data, the watch will operate with the Bulgari Vault app on the owner’s smartphone.

The watch, dubbed the Luxury Wrist Vault and made from magnesium and ceramic, will cost between €5,000 and €6,000 with the NFC chip, and €3,900 euros without, when it hits the shops, Reuters reports.

A promotional video shows off the watch’s features:

The Diagono Magnesium was revealed at the Baselworld trade fair this week as watch brands counter the entry of Apple into their market.

Tag Heuer announced this week it is to build an Android Wear-powered smartwatch while, earlier this month, fellow Swiss manufacturer Swatch announced it would launch its first watch containing an NFC chip within two months, which would allow owners to use their watch to make payments around the world.

Wisekey CEO Carlos Moreira said the Bulgari watch and a future range of secure wearable devices would allow users to “retake control of their personal data”.