Non-fungible tokens (NFT) have been making headlines lately after a digital artist named Beeple sold a work for $69.3 million at Christie's; Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold his first-ever tweet for $2.9 million. Now, luxury jewelry and watchmaker Jacob & Co. is entering the realm after announcing it was releasing the first-ever digital watch to be released through an NFT platform.
The new digital new watch release—which will be hosted exclusively through ArtGrails—is based on the Epic SF24 timepiece. The groundbreaking travel watch used a split-flap display system to list 24 cities around the world. But, unlike the original version, the digital one will include a functioning tourbillon and display 10 different cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Fantom, instead of cities.
While this is an entirely digital asset, the watch will come with an official box and certificate from the brand.
"NFT is an unexplored territory for most people, let alone the conventional horology industry. Jacob & Co. is a trailblazer in discovering this brand-new arena for all the high-end jewelry and watch brands," Benjamin Arabov, the newly named CEO of Jacob & Co., told Departures in a statement. "Our goal is to prove that there is a market for (HELDAs) High-End Luxury Digital Assets, and we want to be the first ones to break into this industry."
The famous watch company is no stranger to setting trends and breaking molds. They've made watches with pieces of Mt. Everest inside, a timepiece with a 288-faceted diamond moon, and will customize a watch for you based on your favorite city.
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"Our vision of Jacob & Co. is to be the trendsetters, the first innovators, and to lead the crowd instead of joining it," said Arabov. "As we develop what most thought 'impossible' watches, it's now time to see what type of noise we can make as digital products."
The Jacob & Co. NFT will launch in an auction format starting on April 4th and last for five days. There will be only one winner of the auction who submits the highest bid.
