Yesterday luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. announced that it had entered the non-fungible token (NFT) space by purchasing a Tom Sachs Rocket Factory NFT.
Tiffany acquired the “Okapi” NFT seven days ago for 115 Ethereum, worth approximately $380,000 today. This was one of the collection’s most expensive sales, with an average sales price of just over 4 Ethereum ($13,400) over the last 90 days, according to data from OpenSea. During that period, there were just two sales above $50,000, with the largest the equivalent of $140,000.
The Tom Sachs Rocket Factory NFT collection allowed buyers to assemble rockets with component NFTs. Once completed, a small physical rocket was assembled and literally had a rocket launch. Provided it was found afterward, the physical mini rocket was delivered to the NFT owner.
“We are excited to continue our long-standing partnership with @tom_sachs, who has a history of creating art around our brand,” said Tiffany & Co. in a series of tweets. “The evolution of fine art collecting is here and the future is bright with NFTs.”
Following Tiffany’s purchase, there was increased interest in the Tom Sachs Rocket Factory collection, with almost $100,000 spent by five other buyers on the same day. This was significantly higher than the 90-day average sales volume of approximately $26,400. Although Tiffany had not yet announced that it was behind the purchase, the high price that it paid for the NFT was publicly viewable on OpenSea and could have motivated others to follow suit.
Tiffany’s announcement comes as many other brands have also been piling into the NFT and metaverse sectors. Last week Decentraland hosted the 2022 Metaverse Fashion Week with the participation of over 70 brands, artists, and designers including well-established household names like Dolce & Gabbana, Estee Lauder, Forever 21, and Selfridges.
Outside of the fashion industry, last year Visa bought a CryptoPunk NFT for almost $150,000 and announced that it is working on “concepts and partnerships” that will support NFT buyers, sellers, and creators. Earlier this year, several banks, including JP Morgan and HSBC have bought NFT land in the metaverse.
