Dubai-Based Luxury Jewelry House Mouawad To Release NFTs Of Miss Universe Crown

Dubai-based luxury jewelry house Mouawad said it will offer fractionalized ownership of the Miss Universe crown via non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with Icecap, a global firm that develops non-fungible tokens for investment-grade diamonds.

The fractionalized ownership of the crown, created by Mouawad, will be based on Ethereum blockchain NFTs, which contain their own terms, conditions and trading components, the company said Friday.

The NFTs are expected to be issued in the second half of 2022 on select crypto-trading platforms, with the initial value set by an expert appraiser.

The Miss Universe Power of Unity Crown, which was originally worn by 2019 Miss Universe winner Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa, and then by 2020 Miss Universe Andrea Meza of Mexico, currently belongs to 2021 Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu of India.

The company also said that when and if the Power of Unity crown is ever retired, it will either be placed in a museum and the tokens will be allowed to trade indefinitely, or the token owners can vote to sell the crown at an auction.

“As our world moves increasingly towards digitalization, things become possible that would have been difficult to grasp less than a generation ago,” said Jacques Voorhees, Icecap’s founder and CEO.

“NFTs provide not merely immutable proof of ownership of an object, but they can also allow the holder to unlock digital content associated with that object—in this case about the pageant, the contestants, the contestant stories, and the crown itself.”

“Miss Universe is one of the most glamorous and popular competitions in the world today,” noted Pascal Mouawad, co-guardian of the prominent jewelry house headquartered in Dubai.

“It is inspiring to have an event that extends the human ideals of strength, unity, intelligence and perseverance. The crown itself represents the powerful message of these values and is one of the most extraordinary pieces of jewelry in the world.”

“As we’ll be using the technology of fractionalized NFTs for this project,” explained Voorhees, “the smart contract underlying the tokens will allow a majority to essentially ‘vote’ on what will happen to the crown if it is ever retired from the pageant. If the crown is sold the proceeds will flow automatically to the NFT holders at that time.”

“We’re thrilled fans will get the chance to own a piece of our history,” said Paula M. Shugart, Miss Universe Organization president.

“The Miss Universe Organization is proud to partner with Icecap and Mouawad for this exciting opportunity and new way to engage with fans and reach a greater audience.”

This would come as a big boost for NFTs in the luxury industry. As the craze for digital assets grows, industries have started to adopt the trend and the luxury industry is no exception.

Sotheby, one of the most famous auction houses, announced last year that it will accept cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment options.