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Timex teams up on NFTs: The watchmaker is Bored Ape Yacht Club’s latest brand partner

Bored Ape holders describe the collaborative effort as “dope.” What else do you need to know?
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Timex

3 min read

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Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

Let’s face it; December was a rough month for crypto enthusiasts. But for those who own a token from popular NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), it included a chance to bring their digital monkey portraits into the wearables space, via a partnership with Timex.

Throughout the month, Bored Ape token holders had the chance to order one of 500 custom wristwatches, whose face features their own Ape, and which is accompanied by a matching NFT to verify the watch’s authenticity.

Barrel of monkeys: If you’re saying, “Okay, watches I get, but what the heck is a Bored Ape?” you probably aren’t that active on Twitter. Just kidding. But BAYC has become almost a household name, and is one of the most lucrative NFT collections in the world.

BAYC is a collection of 10,000 digital images, each of a cartoon ape with distinct characteristics, including clothing, facial expressions, jewelry, and hairstyles. The images are stored as units of data on the Ethereum blockchain, and owners (holders) can buy and sell them on OpenSea, a marketplace for NFTs. Since the project’s launch in 2021, it has made more than $2 billion.

The Apes also serve as membership cards giving holders access to events, exclusive merch drops, and spinoff projects, like Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Bored Ape Kennel Club.

BAYC and brands: Bringing custom wristwatches to Ape holders is far from the project’s first retail collaboration. In late 2021, BAYC teamed up with Adidas on physical merchandise, followed by a digital wearables drop in late 2022.

Bored Ape holders have also struck out on their own into brand collaborations, using their images on everything from skin care products to coffee beans.

Time machine: Timex said it paired up with longtime Bored Ape holders who consulted on the project, which offers holders customizations including watch case, strap, and etching.

“As a part of the OG Bored Ape community, it’s been dope to collaborate with the OGs of watchmaking,” Ape holder and project advisor @CryptoVonDoom said.

The Bored Ape collaboration marks Timex’s first foray into Web3, following the brand’s entry into virtual worlds in November 2022, through a partnership with Fortnite.

“Timex is entering Web3 by keeping creativity and community at the forefront,” Shari Fabiani, SVP global marketing and creative services of Timex Group, said in a statement. “In partnership with the BAYC community, we are redefining and pushing the boundaries of physical, virtual, and now phygital products.”—MA

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

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