Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer introduces NFT-enabled smartwatch

Watchmaker TAG Heuer has partnered with the well-known nonfungible token (NFT) community surrounding Bored Ape Yacht Club and CLONE-X to create a smartwatch that displays NFTs and connects to crypto wallets such as MetaMask and Ledger Live.

The company says that the functionality of the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 will be straightforward, with NFTs being transferred to it via a paired smartphone. The device is set to support static and animated NFT artwork, and multiple NFTs can be transferred to the watch at a time. TAG Heuer stated that NFT artwork can be resized and placed within three available designs within the watch.

Current capabilities of the smartwatch and how it handles NFT artwork and display are outlined in a blog post from TAG Heuer:

“Some NFTs are still images, and some are animated GIFs. TAG Heuer’s watch face will support these formats in crisp detail, with animations looping infinitely."

The smartwatch will also possess the ability to connect to the blockchain and verify NFTs owned by the wearer. TAG Heuer describes the feature in their announcement saying, "Verified NFTs are displayed in a hexagon with a cloud of particles gravitating around the image.”

This new NFT functionality is set to be available as a free update to all Tag Heuer Calibre E4 owners through Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

TAG Heuer continues to grow in the Web3 space utilizing a team of in-house developers for blockchain-related projects. Back in May, TAG Heuer partnered with BitPay to begin accepting payments in Bitcoin (BTC) and eleven other cryptocurrencies including several US dollar-pegged stablecoins. NFT watches aren’t a completely new idea with Bulgari, Jacob & Co, and others jumping into the market in recent months.

NFTs exploded into mainstream media in 2021 with individual sales reaching into the tens of millions. Despite recent overall market conditions and cascading NFT prices, sales reportedly remain steady.