Tiffany & Co announced that it will be turning CryptoPunk NFTs into $50,000 custom-designed pendants.
The luxury jewellery company unveiled its new NFT service, called NFTiff, on Sunday, when it shared that customers will soon be able to turn their punk NFTs into a “bespoke pendant handcrafted by Tiffany & Co artisans”.
The NFTiffs represent a collection of 250 digital passes, which can be purchased for 30 Ether ($49,922), says the jeweler’s new website for the service. The passes, which will go on sale on Friday 5 August, can then be redeemed by CryptoPunks holders for bespoke diamond and gemstone-encrusted pendants, which will be inspired by the CryptoPunk owner’s personal avatar.
CryptoPunks are unique pixelated avatars and popular among the NFT community. While the purchase price for just one of the 10,000 unique 24x24 avatars regularly reaches millions, NFT Stats reports that, over the last seven days, the average cost for one CryptoPunks NFT was $74.2k.
In addition to the jewellery, Tiffany & Co. says each NFTiff customer will also receive a NFT digital artwork that resembles the pendant.
As for the materials and gemstones that will be used to create each pendant, the company said that it will depend on the CryptoPunk, but that each design will use at least 30 gemstones. They note that the gemstones will include sapphires, amethyst, and spinel, and/or diamonds, while the pendant will be either 18k rose or yellow gold based on the colour palette of the NFT.
While clients will receive a render of the pendant by October, Tiffany & Co notes under the FAQ portion of its website that customisations will not be allowed. “No personalisation is available due to the delicate nature of enamel,” the company states, adding that each pendant will be engraved with the CryptoPunk series number and the Tiffany & Co logo, but that “no engraving is possible on the back beyond the edition number”.
In regards to the pricey cost of each NFTiff, the jewellery maker notes that the 30 ETH includes the cost of the NFT, the custom pendant, the chain, and shipping and handling.
On social media, Tiffany & Co’s announcement has been met with mixed reactions, with some praising the unique concept while others have criticised the price.
“Wow this is amazing,” one person tweeted, while another said: “Not going to lie, I wish I owned a punk.”
“Best NFT entrance from a corporate brand to date,” someone else wrote. “Usually it feels forced and grabby, this feels natural and unique, well done!”
Others claim that the price for the new pendants and NFTs is a “cash grab”.
“What is this nonsense? 30 ETH for what? Looks exactly like a cash grab to me,” one person tweeted, while someone else said: “30 ETH is roughly $50,000 right now. Why not just buy jewelry from Tiffany & Co instead of this stupid NFT? Lmao.”
“I’m not spending 30ETH on this,” another person wrote.
The news of the upcoming campaign comes after Tiffany & Co’s executive vice president for product and communication, Alexandre Arnault, who owns #3167 CryptoPunk NFT, shared a picture of his avatar reimagined as a rose gold gemstone-encrusted pendant in April.
“When punks go wild at @tiffanyandco,” he wrote, adding that his avatar was reimagined in rose gold and featured “sapphire and mozambique baguette ruby glasses” and a yellow diamond round earring.
