Tiffany and Co.’s news that it will produce custom CryptoPunk pendants sparks a 2,200 percent jump in NFT trading volume
Some people have their NFTs on their Twitter profile, others wear them around their necks in diamond-encrusted rose gold – or at least they will later this month. Jewels Tiffany & Co. announced on Sunday that the company would be collaborating on a collection of NFTs and corresponding CryptoPunk-ified jewelry, which will go on sale August 5th exclusively on the brand’s new NFT site, the cutely named NFTiff.
Potential buyers must already own a CryptoPunk to play ball. If you choose to purchase, the NFTiff acts as a passport that allows you to order not only a custom Tiffany pendant and pixel-inspired chain, but also an additional digital rendering of the pendant as an NFT, powered by Chain. The entire kit and kaboodle will cost 30 ETH, which converts to about $50,0000. That may seem like a pretty penny, but it’s a relative steal: The floor price for a punk is currently around 74.5 ETH, or about $125,000.
Of course, in classic crypto fashion, the hype for the collaboration has already seen trading volume for CryptoPunks increase by 2,200% in just three days since the announcement, for a total of more than $2.3 million in sales, CoinDesk reports.
NFTiffs are limited to an edition of 250, and owners of any punk will be allowed to purchase up to three necklaces. For the pendants themselves, Tiffany’s designers will faithfully recreate each face from the same library of 87 characteristics and 159 shades used by the punks’ originator, Larva Labs, color-matched in enamel and a minimum of 30 gemstones.
The venture came about after Tiffany & Co.’s executive vice president of product and communications, Alexandre Arnault, posted a photo of a custom-designed interpretation of his CryptoPunk #3167, attracting word from Chain’s CEO, Deepak Thapliyal, who then reached out to discuss partnering.
The campaign reflects a new foray into online guerilla marketing for the brand. Arnault announced the project on his personal Twitter accountingasking followers if they’d like to see this happen, and when the vote came back as a resounding “Yes,” “LFG” responded (the acronym supposedly means “let’s form group” in crypto jargon, but there are alternative interpretations).
While the jewelry collaboration may feel like a surprising interweaving of an old brand with extremely new media, buyers can rest assured that each personalized pendant will be delivered in the timeless Tiffany blue box.
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