Diving summary:

• Timex has created a collection of 500 watches and corresponding NFT digital cufflinks in collaboration with the Bored Ape Yacht Club, according to a press release.
• Available exclusively to members of the Bored Ape and Mutant Ape community, each watch is based on the watchmaker’s Timex Waterbury Classic design, displays an Ape or Mutant character on the dial, and has customizable attributes, including a case, strap and engravings.
• Timex is billing the collaboration, which it produced alongside several longtime Bored Ape owners and 3D metaverse, including a Fortnite activation.

Diving information:

Timex’s collaboration with members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club demonstrates how a traditional watchmaker can engage with younger consumers and digital communities. By creating custom, limited-edition watches that have digital twins, the brand ties NFTs to something that has real-world value, unlike other branded NFT activations that only exist in the digital realm.

“Timex enters Web3 by keeping creativity and community at the forefront,” Shari Fabiani, Timex Group’s senior vice president of global marketing and creative services, said in a press release.

The key to the collection is a collaboration with members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the best-known NFT collections, which has been purchased and popularized by a variety of celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Timex consulted with long-time owners of Bored Ape, Josh Ong, CryptoVonDoom, The Miami Ape, LOGIK, BaronVonHustle and Zeneca on the project, which was created with Daz 3D, a company that specializes in Web3 strategy, marketing and development. complete.

The NFT-focused collection comes at a tipping point for blockchain-based technology that seemed to come crashing down in late 2022 after the NFT market crashed. However, brands like Macy’s and Starbucks have continued to experiment in the space, which some believe could see a resurgence as better use cases proliferate.

Timex made access to the collection available to the BAYC community at a launch party during Art Basel in Miami in December 2022 and then opened the offer to NFT holders for a price of 2 ETH. Timepiece Forge Pass NFT holders were able to design the watches online, which will arrive in Q2 2023. The activation demonstrates how brands can use NFTs and other blockchain technologies to ensure authenticity.

While billed as its first Web3 activation, Timex is no stranger to emerging technologies, having launched a metaverse experience within Fortnite, “Race Against TimeX,” back in November.