There’s no doubt or uncertainty in calling the NFT market the big trend of 2022 – and that’s pretty evident from the numbers generated. Bloomberg reports that during 2021, NFT transactions are estimated to exceed $41 billion.
But it is equally evident that the potential of the NFTs has only just been scratched by this development, and this tip of the iceberg hides underneath an as yet unexpressed potential for growth, which lies in all those “hybrid” solutions involving NFTs affecting both virtual and physical spaces.
Richape Mille combines luxury watches with NFTs
Richape Mille has an ambitious goal: to unite the NFT market with the luxury watch market. We have interviewed one of the founders, Hannu Siren, regarding the project, and this is the unique niche where Richape Mille is operating, tapping into one of the fastest-growing traditional markets right now: luxury watches. Swiss watchmaking set an all-time high, closing out 2021 with an impressive CHF 21.1 billion in sales – a performance that topped the record of 2019 by +2.7%.
What is your take on the luxury watch market?
“The Swiss watch market is demonstrating a solid performance which gives us an interesting element: overall value is increasing, but the number of pieces sold is decreasing. This means fewer watches are being built, but at a much higher price, making the market even more luxurious than it was.
And with such an exclusive market, it was almost a foregone conclusion to put it together with the NFT market, especially since the decentralized structure of the blockchain is perfect for ensuring transparent exchanges of watch-based assets, both virtual and physical, in complete security and solving all those brokerage problems such as waiting lists, watch flipping, and excessive mark-ups by middlemen.”
Richape Mille’s proposal: NFT’s Metalus collection
To succeed in building an integrated solution for the development of the Metaverse, Richape Mille started from the beginning: the creation of a line of NFTs dedicated to watch enthusiasts, Metalus. And if you feel like you’ve sort of heard that name before, you’re absolutely right.
Why did you name your NFT collection Metalus?
“Metalus is our way of paying homage to an iconic piece of watchmaking history, the Patek Philippe Nautilus. To do so, we have arranged for the minting of 5711 NFTs – also a Patek reference! These are digital reproductions of 100 of the most iconic watches in watchmaking history and will be available in four different rarity categories: Rare, Super Rare, Grail, and Piece Unique. They will be available for purchase during the launch of the collection.”
Will there be more to know about the NFT launch?
“We don’t just want to create a new NFT: our goal is much more ambitious and will involve creating a true community dedicated to luxury watchmaking. To do this, we have opened a pre-registration on our website richapemille.com for a Discord channel. The people most involved in building the community, i.e., who will be most active in publishing engaging content for the community, will be invited to Metalus’ special whitelist, and will have the opportunity to acquire a maximum of 2 NFTs in each wallet at the special launch price of the collection. The remaining NFTs will be offered after a few days on the public market, but obviously at different prices from those reserved to the first whitelisters. Once sold, minting will take place, and the model and rarity of the NFTs that you have bought will be revealed.”
You told us that the launch of Metalus is just Richape Mille’s first step into the metaverse.
“That is correct. Our goal is to create a select community of people who care about the world of watchmaking. We intend to give them a place to come together – virtually and otherwise – to discuss what they love and to conduct their purchases and sales safely and transparently, and this place will be called ChronoMETA.
This will be a marketplace, where it will be possible to conduct NFT transactions regarding watchmaking, with payments via cryptocurrency: it will be a direct environment, where seller and buyer will meet directly, without going through endless meanders of intermediaries, watch flipping, and waitlists to get the watch you want.
More, think about the fractional possibilities offered by blockchain technology. Through ChronoMETA it will be possible to buy a “share” of an NFT linked to a physical Grail watch and eventually resell it for a surplus. This will be directly supported by marketplace technology. It opens up a new horizon for investments for watch connoisseurs.
And the entry ticket to get into ChronoMETA is in our 5711 NFTs.”
Were you talking about community-building activities?
“We’re going to be doing that right away. All of our NFT subscribers will receive a custom hoodie with our signature logo plus one in an NFT version, and one of all will get an even more exclusive gift: a gorgeous platinum Rolex Daytona, complete with box and papers.
In addition, those who own Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and keep them on the same wallet as the Metalus collection will also receive a derivative NFT showing their monkey wearing our watch. And later on, we will organize exclusive events for our members, both directly and in collaboration with the most renowned watch Maisons – a cooperation that is already happening.”
That sounds like a very ambitious project
“It certainly is, but it’s what the market expects today. The metaverse needs concrete initiatives led by professionals that can create long-term value for those who identify with it, and this is precisely what Richape Mille wants to do. Once the community around ChronoMETA is created, the next step will be to work on Meta-Made.org – a specific platform designed to provide luxury watch companies with all the technologies and services related to the development of NFT initiatives, which will become a new stamp of authenticity and high quality across the metaverse.”
So how people can get involved?
“Nothing could be simpler. Pre-registration is open at richapemille.com – just log on and join Discord. Much more information about the project and its development will be disseminated on the channel, much more than we can do here now – and see you in the channel!”