Planet Money · Friday, July 10, 2026
Graham Wetzbarger, former chief authenticator for The Real Real, detailed the company's authentication process, which he helped build. He broke down authentication into four key pillars: materials, construction, hardware, and brand identifiers.
“This is Graham Wetzbarger. He started at The Real Real back in 2013 and was their first chief authenticator.”
“So how does one tell the difference? For simplicity, I can break it down for four pillars of authentication.”
“We look at the materials that it's used. We look at the construction technique, how it's put together. We look at hardware components. And then we look at brand identifiers.”