NFTs and Their Role in the Luxury Watch Industry

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The beginning of a new calendar year is an ideal moment for both reflection and speculation. Following countless developments over the last 12 months – both good and bad – there are probably no better markets to analyze than the luxury watch industry and NFT space. Since these industries are beginning to overlap more and more, it's a great time to explore this symbiotic relationship.

The alliance between luxury watches and NFTs is a relatively recent one. While wristwatches in the traditional sense have been around since the 16th century, NFTs only really started cropping up in 2021. So, what is the common denominator between these two vastly different industries? To put it simply, both generate potentially lucrative assets that have gained immense traction as alternative investments during a tumultuous time on the stock market. 

The first actor to merge the two was a watchmaker and jeweler Jacob & Co. from New York City. The fusion came as a digital version of their SF24 Tourbillon timepiece. The original (i.e., physical) version boasts Jacob & Co.’s patented world time display, a split-flap system inspired by old-school airport departure boards, that shows the time in 24 cities. When it came to creating the world’s first luxury watch NFT, the brand decided to anchor the connection to the digital world by shelving the time zones and displaying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum instead. The ten-second animation fetched $100,000 at auction from an unknown bidder, while the “real” version retails for $210,000. 

After their pioneering venture into the world of NFTs was deemed a success, Jacob & Co. pushed ahead and