Timex enters Web3 with Bored Ape NFT collaboration

Dive card:

• Timex has created a collection of 500 watches and corresponding digital twin NFTs in collaboration with the Bored Ape Yacht Club, according to a press release.
• Each watch – exclusively available to members of the Bored Ape and Mutant Ape communities – is based on the watchmaker’s Timex Waterbury Classic design, features an Ape or Mutant character on the face and features customizable attributes, including case, strap and etchings.
• Timex is billing the collaboration, which it produced alongside several longtime Bored Ape holders and the 3D Metaverse, including a Fortnite activation.

Diving Insights:

Timex’s collaboration with members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club shows how a manufacturer of traditional watches can engage with younger consumers and digital communities. By creating custom, limited editions that have digital twins, the brand ties the NFTs to something that has real value, unlike other branded NFT activations that only exist in the digital realm.

“Timex enters Web3 by keeping creativity and community at the forefront,” said Shari Fabiani, senior vice president of global marketing and creative services for Timex Group in a press release.

Key to the collection is a collaboration with members of Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the most famous NFT collections, which has been purchased and popularized by a number of celebrities including Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg and Gwyneth Paltrow. Timex consulted with longtime Bored Ape holders Josh Ong, CryptoVonDoom, The Miami Ape, LOGIK, BaronVonHustle and Zeneca on the project, which was created with Daz 3D, a company specializing in Web3 strategy, marketing and full-stack development.

The NFT-focused collection comes at a turning point for the blockchain-based technology that looked set to crater in late 2022 after the market for NFTs collapsed. However, brands including Macy’s and Starbucks have continued to experiment in the space, which some believe could see a resurgence as better use cases proliferate.

Timex made access to the collection available to the BAYC community at a launch party during Art Basel in Miami in December 2022 and later opened the offering to NFT holders for a price of 2 ETH. Holders of Timepiece Forge Pass NFTs were able to design the watches online, which are set to arrive in Q2 2023. The activation demonstrates how NFTs and other blockchain technologies can be used by brands to ensure authenticity.

While billed as its first Web3 activation, Timex is no stranger to new technologies, having launched a metaverse experience within Fortnite, “Race Against TimeX,” in November.