Tl;dr – Digital Twins Cheat Sheet
- A digital twin is a digital complement to a physical product. They could become a key part of the luxury customer experience.
- Using the Bulgari Singularity Patent, Octo Finissimo comes with digital artwork, accessible via a QR code engraved onto the ratchet wheel of the watch.
- The first Bulgari NFT High Jewellery Creation has two necklaces with unique digital artwork.
A digital twin is a virtual compliment to a physical object. It could be clothing, high jewellery, a timepiece or a bottle of Hennessy. Although the word twin implies an identical replica or copy, think of it more as a brother or sister: different in appearance and style, but born from the same DNA.
Luxury brands can use digital twins to elevate the customer journey and enrich the physical experience. Because they are NFTs, authenticity, provenance, and digital craftsmanship can further add to the story of a luxury product.
With Octo Finissimo Ultra and its High Jewellery NFT Capsule, Bulgari is taking its artistic vision, savoir-faire and imagination and giving it a modern twist for Web3 and the metaverse. In doing so, the Italian giant has set a benchmark for what brands can achieve with digital twins. And the story starts five years ago.
Bulgari and the Octo Finissimo Soulbound NFT
In 2017, as part of the LVMH DARE (Disrupt, Act, Risk to be an Entrepreneur) program, Bulgari created the Singularity Project. It was led by innovation and transformation director Ennio Piccirillo. Unfortunately, the technology wasn’t ready and Bulgari had to put the project to one side. However, the creative ideas it could make possible percolated across half a decade.
By 2022, blockchain technology had advanced and luxury brands had started using NFTs to disrupt the luxury industry. It was at this moment Bulgari launched Octo Finissimo, a limited edition of 10 watches – each costing €455,000 – that made use of the Bulgari Singularity and digital twins.
Without getting too technical, the Bulgari Singularity Technology uses a ‘soulbound’ NFT to authenticate the watch. Think of this as a non-transferable, digital certificate of ownership that can’t be altered, exchanged or sold (unlike a ‘normal’ NFT, that can be sold any number of times). If that sounds complicated, think of Harvard or Cambridge University awarding a degree as a ‘soulbound’ NFT. Since the NFT can’t be transferred, it would give the graduate immutable proof of success, and remove any questions of falsification or forgery by third parties. A solution to a problem every luxury brand would like!
Because the Octo Finissimo is at the cutting edge of luxury and design, and because Bulgari never do things by half, owners access their NFT digital twin through a QR code laser-engraved on the barrel’s ratchet wheel. It sounds incredible, and it is.
By scanning the QR code, the owner is taken on a journey to a custom built mini-site where they’ll discover a collection of content devoted to the artistry and origins of the Octo Finissimo. The collection is a combination of videos, design sketches, photos and interviews with the watchmakers. Exclusive, handcrafted content only accessible to the owner of the watch. Could your Maison offer its customers a similar story?
The Bulgari High Jewellery NFT capsule
Bulgari’s second luxury experiment with digital twins takes the rarity of the Octo Finissimo and escalates the exclusivity. “We are working on the pinnacle of our products only,” as Alicia Gonzalez, Innovation & Transformation Project Manager at Bulgari, explained, “creating the right scarcity and innovation for the experiences.”
The pinnacle Alicia is referring to is the 10-carat Magnifica Ruby Metamorphosis and Emerald Glory necklaces and their digital twins. As with the Octo Finissimo, the Magnifica Ruby and Emerald Glory have personal mini-sites with unique digital creations designed and crafted over hundreds of hours. Inspired by the collection, the artwork narrates the process of the creation and showcases the symbiotic relationship of the physical and the digital, each fuelling the advancement of the other.
To further elevate the customer experience and add an extra touch of modernity, the collection comes in a specially designed luxury frame the owner can hang in their home.
The third piece in the collection is Beyond Wonder, the first NFT-only jewel from Bulgari. Unavailable to buy and now part of the Bulgari Heritage Collection, Beyond Wonder is a luxury experiment that Bulgari sees as ‘transcending the boundaries of materiality.’
With its High Jewelry NFT Capsule and Octo Finissimo, Bulgari has proved the digital can match the physical for beauty, craftsmanship, fine detail and creative expression. With Beyond Wonder, Bulgari has opened a window on the digital craftsmanship of tomorrow.
The story of Bulgari is wrapped in the narrative of Rome, the unmistakable jewelry, watches and luxury know-how indelibly crafted by the latin lines of the city. One day, could Rome itself have a digital twin? Bulgari is already imagining a metaverse based on metaphysical Rome. But we’ll save that story for another time, because Rome wasn’t built in a day.
