When Alexandre Arnault, executive vice president of Tiffany & Co and son of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, turned his CryptoPunks NFT into a physical rose gold-and-enamel pendant and posted it on social media, several CryptoPunks community members expressed their desire to do the same, in a poll. His creation launched the first tangible link between NFTs and fine jewellery. That’s when Tiffany & Co made the leap into Web3 by partnering with blockchain-based software development company Chain to launch its very first NFT—or, in the brand language, ‘NFTiff’—available exclusively to 250 CryptoPunk holders, in the form of digital assets that gave them the opportunity to purchase a custom 18k gold pendant with about thirty gemstones.
Image: Tiffany
The decision was bang on! The collection went live with 250 NFTs priced at 30 ethereum each and sold out within minutes… raising the ether-equivalent of $12.5 million. For each NFTiff purchased, Tiffany designers will create a custom pendant based on the buyer’s CryptoPunk. Each CryptoPunk has a unique combination of attributes like a medical mask, a hat, or an earring, and a color palate which will be reflected in the pendant rendered in 18-karat gold and at least thirty gemstones. Tiffany & Co expects the made-to-order jewellery to be ready by February 2023.
I worked with Condenast India as Digital Editor and launched Vogue India’s portal. Four years later, I turned entrepreneur and launched my luxury portal www.explosivefashion.in. Perhaps it’s my vision and exclusive content that’s placed Explosive Fashion at the forefront of luxury: reporting from fashion weeks, collaborating with luxury brands, presenting royal families’ vision, championing talent, reviewing hotels and restaurants, writing on travel, heritage. My editorial is of a storyteller, the story of the person behind the brand.
