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Bulgari debuted its newest high jewellery collection in Paris on Monday, featuring emeralds, rubies and a surprising, sparkling new addition: NFTs.
The new collection includes a multi-million-euro, 10-carat Magnifica Ruby Metamorphosis necklace and the Emerald Glory necklace to be sold with digital twin NFTs, which link the physical goods to a virtual version. The third NFT, called “Beyond Wonder”, is a purely digital creation, which the brand calls the “first NFT jewel, an intangible creation, transcending the boundaries of materiality” and is not for sale.
The NFTs were designed by Bulgari jewellery creative director Lucia Silvestri and done in partnership with Milan-based startup Miat. Their data is stored on the Aura blockchain, and the NFTs are accessible on the Polygon blockchain, according to Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin.
The two “digital twins” are not replicas of the necklaces to wear on Decentraland or your PFP like others. Instead, they are digital artworks inspired by the necklaces.
“The future of contemporary art is partly digital and NFTs are the driver of digital contemporary art. Being able to give our clients an artistic dimension inspired by their jewellery gives to the piece an emotional dimension. The high jewellery piece will be worn three times a year while you can have your NFT on a nice screen at home,” Babin says.
Digital twins are set to become a popular type of NFT for fashion brands as they give physical goods wearability in the metaverse and can also drive revenue. While some argued digital twins lack a suitable luxury halo and are more akin to a “bonus pack” mentality, Bulgari is diving in by directly linking its NFTs to high jewellery purchases. The LVMH-owned jeweller has already experimented with a limited-edition collection of 10 NFT artworks inspired by the Octo Finissimo Ultra, which bills itself as the world’s thinnest mechanical watch. They open up with a QR code engraved on the barrel’s ratchet wheel. While the watch industry has been an early supporter of Web3, jewellery has so far shied away from it. Rival Cartier hasn’t launched NFTs and Tiffany & Co, also owned by LVMH, has yet to mint NFTs though it has embraced some playful Web3-linked marketing.
Some watch brands including Tag Heuer have gone a step further and joined other luxury brands such as Gucci by accepting cryptocurrency, but Babin says that’s not in Bulgari’s short-term plans. “We produce in euros. It's in our best interest to be paid in euros to manage risks,” the executive notes.
Could Bulgari launch NFTs linked to more affordable fine jewellery? “Absolutely, we can imagine it,” he says. “It’s a matter of artistic investment. We want it to be artistic, not only a 3D version of the jewel.”
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