NFT Collectors Go IRL & Pandemic Watch Collectors
In search of lost time...
Cultured is a newsletter by Otis that gets readers up to speed on the most interesting things going on at the intersection of finance, art, collectibles, NFTs, and more.
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🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
The newest trend for NFT collectors: IRL art
Collectors who broke into the art world through NFTs are expanding to traditional mediums like painting and sculpture, due to a concerted effort by dealers and advisors to appeal to tech-focused collectors.
Sotheby’s and Christie’s both beefed up their NFT offerings this year, while Pace Gallery hired its first online sales director. These investments have helped institutions tap into the digital art trend, but have also helped them sell IRL artworks to metaverse collectors.
Natasha Degen, who runs art market studies at FIT, noted that the art market’s ups and downs are familiar to crypto investors.
Our Take: Skeptics said it was impossible to bring NFTs into the art world. Maybe they don’t have to be seamlessly integrated in order to be successful.
NFTs are a gateway to the art world for a new generation of collectors. For collectors, this can be a straightforward transition — NFT collector Justin Sun recently bought a Giacometti sculpture for $78 million. For newer artists, it’s about finding ways to appeal to tech-focused collectors. Artists like KAWS and Tom Sachs have found ways to bridge the metaverse and the real world, while Urs Fischer and other big art world names are experimenting with their own tokens.
In search of lost time: how the pandemic revitalized watch collecting
During the pandemic, interest in vintage watch collecting grew significantly. The market is expected to grow from $19 billion in 2019 to around $30 billion in 2025, in large part due to blockbuster sales.
Provenance became one of the leading indicators of value during the pandemic. Newer watch collectors tend to be more fascinated by the story behind the watch than the specs of the timepiece itself. Was it owned by JFK? Is there a photo of Ralph Ellison wearing it? That all adds value.
Recognition watches, a previously banal part of the watch world, are now one of its hottest commodities. These watches were awarded to workers at companies like Domino’s and IBM for exemplary performance.
Our Take: The pandemic destroyed our sense of time. Watch collecting is one way to find that lost time.
After being indoors for weeks on end, we all went a bit crazy during the pandemic. The days started to blend together and time became sludgy. It’s no surprise, then, that many people turned to watch collecting. Watches are famously good at telling time (it’s literally their only job), and the stories behind historic timepieces helped collectors ground themselves. It didn’t hurt that it was a good way to pass time, too.
✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
A CryptoPunks NFT sold for nearly $24 million over the weekend, more than doubling the previous record. It was bought by Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal, who used leverage for the purchase.
Think owning the pair of MJ’s “Broken Ankle” shoes we posted about last week is bad juju? Here’s your chance to own a pair of game-worn Air Jordan 1s from after he made it back from the injury.
The owner of a $650,000 house in Florida can sleep soundly at night knowing that their purchase is backed up by the blockchain. Propy, a real estate startup, sold the home by transferring an NFT with proof of ownership.
This one is for our whiskey lovers: The Macallan just released its oldest expression (which is apparently just a version of a whiskey). It was distilled in 1940 in a sherry-seasoned oak cask and is going for $125,000.
