Photo credit, Mahdis Mousavi
NFTs were included with tickets to major sporting events, used in the launch of a bad beer, and – most interestingly – favored by emerging and established artists. There’s even a museum dedicated to NFT art in Seattle. “Digital art pushes the boundaries of physical space without the limitations of mediums and materials,” say Jennifer Wong and Peter Hamilton, the co-founders of the museum.
So what are NFTs, and how does this digital token fit into the world of jewelry?
What is an NFT
Let’s start with the non-fungible part of “non-fungible token”. Where a fungible asset, like a currency, can be exchanged for the same value (like getting five $1 bills in exchange for a $5 bill), a non-fungible asset is entirely unique and irreplaceable – for example, a great work of art is non-fungible because it is entirely unique and not interchangeable with other art. Non-fungible assets are, of course, at the heart of any collection, whether art, jewelry, toys, or shoes.
Digital files are, by their very nature, incredibly easy to duplicate. (Indeed, much of the content on the internet is copied and pasted from elsewhere.) This has long proven a challenge for artists and collectors in the digital realm, and has made a unique digital collection extremely difficult to value because it is so easy to replicate.
Enter the NFT. A “tokenized” piece of work includes a digital certificate on the blockchain (a public record of purchases and sales, similar to that used for cryptocurrencies) that can be bought and sold. The blockchain itself is replicated across many computers around the world, recording and confirming purchases digitally to provide a strong layer of security and verification.
NFTs in fashion
In the fashion industry, an NFT provides a level of exclusivity by offering a unique digital asset to complement luxury purchases in the real world. Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, and even L’Oreal Paris have developed NFTs to complement their real-world luxury offerings. (D&G’s offering included the Alta Gioielleria line of luxe NFT jewelry.)
“[NFTs are] just one white space opportunity we saw where L’Oreal Paris could help elevate deserving and worthy women,” noted Maude Brunschwig, SVPof marketing at L’Oreal, “while also offering new technologies inspired by beauty and worth to the consumer.”
Photo credit: Alex Chambers
NFT Jewelry
Unsurprisingly, jewelry lends itself well to the digital sphere. Vogue Business notes that Asprey is including an NFT with every physical purchase, as well as pure NFTs. And, though “much of what we’re seeing is hype,” even Cartier is already invested in leveraging some of the technologies behind NFT. (Insider Creations offers similar blockchain technology for more extensive product and material verification.)
For jewelry designer Reena Ahluwalia, “my life’s work has been dedicated in telling powerful stories of diamonds and gemstones. Now, the NFT digital space has given me a 3D immersive medium to express my artistic mindscape and vision behind my diamond art. My art collectors and diamond industry investors can now own parts of my ‘Diamond-Verse’. As an artist, I am so excited to be living in this pivotal moment of digital change.”
Merging the two worlds, designer Jacob Bamdas has launched Chains, a real-world and online jewelry store. “When building Chains, I wanted to create a physical store of value for our digital NFTs,” notes Bamdas, “while producing artwork that was absolutely stunning.”
Final considerations
While many are jumping into the world of NFTs, legal considerations remain for designers. In an industry rife with copycats, digitization poses a new threat to existing trademarks as well. Trademarks registered with the USPTO and foreign offices will become increasingly critical as the global nature of NFTs makes their registrations increasingly important.
Ed Mantilla at Caldwell Intellectual Property Law recently wrote, “We stand on the threshold of yet another digital revolution. NFTs and the metaverse are opening up new worlds of economic opportunity and risk. The fashion industry is at the forefront of many of these new developments.”
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