Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus: The first ever digital timepiece competing in the GPHG, Jewelry category

Born both as an NFT-secured, digital timepiece and as a physical, jewelry watch, the Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus belongs in two worlds. In an unprecedented move, Jacob & Co. created a piece that is acquired first as a digital asset, which required unique digital craftsmanship. Its NFT allows to redeem a physical timepiece : a white gold, high jewelry, high watchmaking, unique piece interpretation by Jacob & Co. of Venus' appearance. Its very nature is a paradigm shift for the watchmaking industry.

Which came first ? The digital Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus ? Or the physical, palpable  Astronomia Metaverso Venus ? Like two intricate faces of a single reality, the timepiece created by Jacob & Co. was executed in both realms at the same time, with the same intention : designing a graphic and horological interpretation of the planet Venus as a watch. An extension of the Astronomia collection, whose original concept is to represent a miniature version of our solar system, the Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus takes this metaphorical view one step further in all manners of execution. 

Both digital and physical assets are unique pieces that will not be repeated. The cutting-edge concept, grounded in both binary and actual worlds, has been recognized by members of the GPHG Academy. They voted for this unprecedented timepiece to compete in the final round of the Oscars of Watchmaking. 

Jewelry accomplishment

The Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus is a new, elaborate version based on Jacob & Co.'s successful Astronomia collection. It comes as 44-mm, polished white gold timepiece with wide sapphire openings on the caseband and openworked lugs. Under its vast, curved sapphire crystal lies a vertical movement with three arms. One is a flying tourbillon, the other is a rotating 288-facet Jacob-cut gem representing a planet and the third is an hour and minute dial, cut from a slab of red spinel. 

Intertwined around these three arms lies the element that's most specific to the Astronomia Metaverso collection. The dome is a three-dimensional, gem-set lattice Jacob & Co. used as a canvas to carry the individual nature of each piece in the collection. In the Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus case, the openworked dome is made of yellow gold set with white diamonds, yellow diamonds and pink sapphires. 

Digital reach

The digital side of  Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus was created to fill a void. "There is a digital, crypto, NFT, affluent community that we address directly with this project", says Benjamin Arabov, CEO at Jacob & Co. "We have a unique connexion to this crowd and they recognize that we speak the same language, have the same references, live in the same universe".

Designing a digital asset may be considered a trifle, but it does require a similarly exacting sense of precision as a physical design. Shashi Menon, CEO at unxd.com, an online platform dedicated to bridging the gap between luxury and digital and an integral part of the project, says: "Creating the Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus required unique digital craftsmanship. It took hundred of hours of joint work between our digital designers and Jacob Arabo. A qualitative rendering of gemstones and especially diamonds is very hard to achieve digitally". 

Packaged experience 

In practical terms, a customer willing to acquire the Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus is to make his purchase on unxd.com. They will acquire an NFT, a blockchain-secured certificate that is proof of ownership of the digital Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus. 

This NFT unlocks a set of exclusive experiences designed by Jacob & Co. and which will be privy to the NFT owner only. They include a series of invitations to specific brand events and to meet personally with Jacob Arabo and Ben Arabov. The NFT allows its owner to redeem the physical version of the Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus directly from a Jacob & Co. boutique. 

Natural extension

In a watchmaking sector that considers watches primarily as physical assets, NFTs are all the rage, but still a side benefit. Conversely, some brands edit large numbers of digital timepieces as exploratory creations, inconsequential designs to be used in some version of the Metaverse. 

The dual nature of the Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus is unprecedented as both its versions bear the same importance, the same status and the same design. They're a testament to Jacob & Co.'s natural involvement in an aspect of culture that's still regarded as pioneering, or even strange by many. To Jacob & Co., whose CEO Benjamin Arabov is a millennial digital entrepreneur, it's just daily life. 

Core offering

The Astronomia Metaverso NFT Venus is not an isolated incident within Jacob & Co. catalog. It's part of an entire collection, featuring five physical/digital timepieces, all edited as unique pieces, inspired by the five planets closest to the sun. The Astronomia Metaverso NFT solar system is completed by three all-digital pieces. 

"The Astronomia Metaverso NFT collection is but the first installment in Jacob & Co.'s NFT-based program. It's not just a one shot. We've engineered it to become an integral part of our brand" says Benjamin Arabov.