Ellen Britt for CNT #NFT
So what else would a young female pharmacist from Vienna do with downtime during the pandemic? Create a virtual jewelry company of course!
Stylin’
In March of 2021, according to the New York Times, as the pandemic was beginning to tighten its grip globally, Zuzana Bastian, a Viennese pharmacist, had an idea. She began to look for ways to bring some style into numerous Zoom meetings each day, and began to work on a marketplace where customers could purchase virtual jewelry and other fashion accessories that could then be worn in augmented reality as well as the metaverse.
Jevels Is Born
With her sister assisting her as her business advisor, their company Jevels, was founded in October 2021 with just three offerings: a pair of earrings, a pearl necklace and a mask. Jevels has grown and now features the work of nine designers with a mix of digital and actual physical offerings. The physical pieces also exist digitally. Prices for the pieces range from $10 to $495 and you can purchase via credit card, PayPal or with some cryptocurrencies.
Their First NFT
Each design is a limited edition and comes with digital pictures of the piece as well as a format suited to share 3-D data, plus a link to a Snapchat filter so the owner can now “wear” their purchases. The designs are also compatible with Zoom and Google Meet. Jewelry is something most people understand, so it’s easy to see why for many of Jevel’s customers, their purchases are also their first NFTs.
In Chains
Another startup in this space is Chains, founded by 22 year old Jacob Bamdas which launched in January with 10,000 NFT chains designed by blockchain jewelry brand Cryptojeweler, Michael Gauthier. These very realistic appearing chains can also be 3-D printed and sell for about $300 or 0.1 Ether at the moment.The company also offers its customers additional value, such as discounts, plus concierge and hospitality perks, which depend on chain ownership.
Diamonds Are Forever
If you’re wondering where the virtual diamonds are, Icecap, a diamond NFT marketplace known as IceCap, has you covered. Founded by Jacques Voorhees in 2020, the company purchases newly cut diamonds then stores them away in an insured vault. They are then put up for sale as NFTS, priced in Ether to give around a 10 percent margin. Customers can keep the NFT to trade or actually redeem it for the diamond itself. With prices ranging from $3,000 to $250,000, most of IceCap’s customers are in it for the investment potential. IceCap is on track to do $3 million in sales the first quarter of 2022.
Your Choice
So take your pick: Jevels, Chains or IceCap. No excuses not to look stylish in your next Zoom meeting!
