Will NFTs be a game-changer in watchmaking?
A few months after the term "blockchain" has definitively passed into everyday language in watchmaking, we have to reckon with a new acronym, which we thought was reserved for the world of high-tech and cryptocurrencies : NFT (Non Fungible Token or non-fungible tokens in French), these certified and traceable digital objects. If we had to simplify, we could consider them as an act of digital ownership.
Where many gamers have, in the past, bought specific accessories or cards online but remain confined to their game, NFTs make it possible to buy part or all of an object on the Internet that you could not afford or that you can always have on you. In contemporary art, for example, the new Eldorado of NFTs, "Bored Ape"(*) works are currently reaching $450,000 on these platforms. The painting or the sculpture are mobile and can be admired at your fingertips. From there to the NFTs inviting themselves into the ultra-hushed sector of watchmaking enthusiasts, there is only one step.
Time ahead
More subject to speculation than ever given the sums reached at auction, the watch sector could open up a little more to NFTs in the coming months. While many brands are studying the system closely, few have yet embarked on the adventure for fear of jeopardizing their brand image in a more than volatile market. With the exception of one of the big names in Swiss watchmaking, Jean-Claude Biver, who auctioned a Hublot Bigger Bang All Black Tourbillon Chronograph watch last March via this system. More precisely, it is an authentic and digital duplicate of the famous watch that he offered to the highest bidder on the Net.
This idea of a double game is precisely what Sotheby's will soon be offering during its sale of original drawings by talented designer Gérald Genta. “Gérald has always been ahead of his time. Honoring his heritage by pushing the limits of watchmaking resonated as obvious, that's why we extended his designs thanks to what is currently the most innovative in art, the NFTs", sums up Evelyne Genta, his wife. and partner.
Perilous tempo
The question even came up in October during the Dubai watch fair, Dubai Watch Week, during a series of conferences on the metaverse, bitcoins and NFT. So many parallel worlds, with growth certainly inflated with helium, but which are based only on the belief of their buyers, who are often in a hurry to sell more than to buy. The slightest earthquake can also rock the system, like the recent fall observed on the side of cryptocurrencies.
A colossus with feet of clay who ignores intellectual property, as evidenced by these fake Rolexes on the market. Hermès recently attacked digital artist Mason Rothschild for his fake digital Birkin bags. So many problems currently being studied to perpetuate this sector which, according to experts, could reach several hundreds of billions of dollars in the years to come. Proof, perhaps, that reality always ends up catching up with fiction, unless it's the other way around.
* Developed by Yuga Labs and launched in April 2021, the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection consists of 10,000 successfully sold jaded ape portraits.
The editorial staff advises you
- Prev
- Next
