Custom Jewelry NFT Certificates

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Problem statement - long form

In the traditional model of designing and selling Jewelry, the designers and jewelry manufacturers create a collection; which they then launch and market at the different events around the world, such as the Basel World convention <https://www.baselworld.com/> or the Dubai Jewelry Show <https://www.jgtdubaijewelleryshow.com/>

After the launch, the Jewelry pieces are sold online or at the retail stores of the designers. The design is fixed during production, and the uniqueness, or the number of units produced, controls rarity.

The traditional model does not allow for customization of Jewelry pieces besides engravings at the point of sale.

On the other hand, consumers are demanding more customization of their products. Think of custom car packages and paint jobs that can be selected when purchasing a new car. The trends for customization are expected to continue. Personalization is an essential marketing tactic that has been used for years. It allows marketers to understand their customers and better target them with ads and messaging. However, personalization will expand into longer customer journeys as technology becomes more advanced and data sets grow larger.

<https://ninetailed.io/blog/personalization-trends-to-watch-for-in-2022/>

Providing a complementary NFT with the details of the custom-designed Jewelry piece creates a sentimental connection to the uniqueness of the design. In addition, it has the practical aspect of clarifying what has gone into the Jewelry piece.

Several companies have created integrated production lines between a webshop and the manufacturing facility that makes individual jewelry pieces. However, this integration is still unique in that the company can create bespoke Jewelry pieces from a blueprint of different traits. Similar to how artists generate NFT collections on the web.

A couple of examples where companies offer a bespoke jewelry design service:

<https://chimeradesign.jewelershowcase.com/band-builder>

<https://www.jweel.com/html/tools.html>

On these platforms, once the customer is happy with the design of the Jewelry piece, they submit their order and go to the checkout area.

Upon checkout and payment, the webshop sends the 3d model to the production line, and the designer gets to work putting together the unique piece by adding the selected traits.

A few days later, a courier delivers the unique Jewelry piece to the customer.

Solution - long form

We will integrate an NFT minter into the Jewelry production process. As the client designs their unique Jewelry piece, they will have the information if the piece is truly unique and the number of other pieces with similar traits. This might lead them to pick different designs that are more or less unique, depending on the preference.

During checkout, the customer will receive an NFT with a picture of the 3d model and metadata with the traits of their unique Jewelry piece.

This will improve the customer journey by:

Giving the customer clear information on how rare their piece is
The customer will receive an NFT with the 3d model summary of the traits that they can then show their friends and loved ones
Create a secondary market for the Jewelry market on the blockchain

Adding NFTS to physical jewelry pieces will bring new users to the Cardano ecosystem as every customer will become a user of the Cardano Blockchain.

During the checkout, the customer will have an option to provide the address of their Cardano wallet where we will send the NFT. If the customer doesn’t have a Cardano wallet, we will create one for them and send the NFT there. In addition, the customer will receive a 15-word mnemonic phrase for their new wallet, which they can use for other things in the Cardano ecosystem.

The transaction cost for minting the NFT will be bourn by the webshop, so the NFT for the customer will be complimentary (free). The customer will receive an NFT in their wallet and a small among of ADA to cover the future cost of sending the NFT should they want to transfer it to someone else.

We are in talks with a company in Portugal that has built a production line capable of linking their web app to their manufacturing facility. This proposal is to build the Cardandao infrastructure to plug into the production line and mint the NFTs linked to the physical jewelry pieces.

We will also investigate the possibility of uploading the 3d model CAD file into the NFT so the 3d model can be used in the manufacturing process.

On the technical side, the platform will have four components:

1 - Backend NFT minting service

We will build the backend service with NodeJs and will connect to the Cardano services with the help of community-built wrappers:

It will connect to cardano-cli through a wapper such as <https://github.com/shareslake/cardanocli-js>
It will connect to cardano-wallet service through a wrapper such as <https://github.com/tango-crypto/cardano-wallet-js>

It will use the cardano-cli to mint new NFTs and it will use the cardano-wallet service to create new wallets for customers.

The cardano-cli and cardano-wallet both depend on a running cardano-node service that syncs a local copy of the cardano database. Therefore cardano-node will also be deployed.

The cardano-cli has a set of commands to mint a token (NFT) and add metadata. The Metadata will follow the CIP25 standard with the label 721; the standard imposes the minimum amount of information such as the PolicyID, Asse Name, Image URL, media type, and a description. Beyond this minimum amount of data, it allows for setting the traits of the Jewelry in a freeform JSON format

<https://cips.cardano.org/cips/cip25/>

We will create a backend service to upload the images of 3d models and the 3d CAD files of Jewelry pieces to the IPFS using the Pinata IPFS gateway https://www.pinata.cloud/

2 - Connector to the webshop checkout process

The NodeJs implementation of the backend will run an Express Server to receive connections from the front end and interact with each of the backend services described in section 1 above.

Additionally, the cardano-graphql service will be deployed to monitor the blockchain and confirm when the minting transaction of NFTs gets completed.

The cardano-graphql will also be used to read all the NFTs that were minted within the same Jewelry collection (PolicyID) and tell the client how unique their current design is

As the client is experimenting with the design of their Jewelry piece the information on the selected traits will be sent to the backend, which will query the blockchain for NFTs within the same PolicyID that have at least one of these traits and send it back to the client the other variations that have already been sold. The client can use this information to inform his decision on if they want something that no one has yet, or otherwise.

When the client is happy with the design, they will use the checkout function of an existing webshop to pay for the Jewelry piece. The webshop will then POST to the backend service an image of the final 3d model that the client chose and the traits of that model.

The backend service will:

upload the image of the Jewelry 3d model onto IPFS,
Generate the CIP25 compatible metadata standard with information on the traits
Build and send a minting transaction with the IPFS URL of the image and the metadata

3 - New Cardano Wallet generator

The newly minted NFTs of the Jewelry piece will be sent to the client’s existing Cardano wallet if the client has a Cardano wallet. If the client doesn’t have a Cardano wallet, the backend service will create a new one.

The backend service will generate the wallet mnemonic in the front end with the help of the BIP39 library. The wallet will then be synced using the cardano-wallet backend service. The client will also receive a wallet address to which the NFT will be sent.

4 - Front end with NFT certificate

After the client completes the checkout and pays for the Jewelry piece, the webshop will present them with an NFT certificate in a pdf format with the following information:

Image of the 3d model
Selected traits
PolicyID and Asset Name of the NFT
Wallet Address holding the NFT when the certificate was issued

Also, optionally the client might choose to have their mnemonic phrase printed on the NFT certificate and instruction on how to open a compatible wallet.

Our partner design agency <https://www.davidegolias.com/> will design the layout and branding of the NFT certificate

A separate one-page application will be built and made available to clients where they will be able to check their NFTs by supplying the PolicyID and Asset Name of their NFT. In addition, the page will show them the image of a 3d model of their Jewelry piece and the metadata with the traits.

The one-page application will be served by cardano-graphql backend service.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

The project addresses the challenge setting by creating a novel and viable application of NFTs to the real world and onboarding non-crypto users to the Cardano Ecosystem.

It will create NFTs for real-world assets to which people attribute economic and emotional value, Jewelry.

It will help onboard new users into the Cardano Ecosystem as every person who buys this particular Jewelry will get an NFT on his existing Cardano wallet, or if they don’t have one, then a new Cardano Wallet will be created for them and a mnemonic phrase provided which they can use elsewhere in their lives. So every new customer is automatically a new Cardano user.

It solves a real-world problem of tracking and communicating uniqueness in Jewelry pieces, which is also one of the prerequisites for a transparent secondary market.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

The technology is well understood, and several projects on Cardano use similar technology in the back end to mint and show the images and metadata of NFTs. Several projects have also linked the minting of NFTs to a fiat onramp which is the closest to checkout at a webshop. An example project that has successfully implemented a more sophisticated version of this <https://www.nft-maker.io/>

The company Dynamic Strategies that will be delivering the project has the experience in delivering projects using the Cardano services stack (more on this in the relevant experience section further below)

A dedicated design studio will design the layout of the NFTs

The project delivery also depends on a functioning user interface where the client designs the bespoke Jewelry pieces and an operational checkout process. We are in talks with a company in Portugal that is setting up its manufacturing and will offer a webshop for clients to design their jewelry. If there are delays with the delivery of the webshop and Jewelry design features, then delivery of the project might get delayed. Mitigating action: we will aim to plan the delivery dates with the Jewelry company as closely as possible. However, should there be uncertainties with the layout or technical stack, we will remain flexible and delay our project delivery. Should the delays extend beyond reasonable, we will create a sample frontend and pitch the solution to other manufacturers.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

The following schedule for the delivery of the technical aspects of the proposal run in parallel with the artistic design of the NFT certificate

1 month - Set up the server environment and create the NFT minter using the available community tooling (cardano-cli js and cardano-wallet-js)

Week 1 - Contract a web server and set up the backend infrastructure to run on the Testnet. cardano-node, cardano-graphql, cardano-wallet, cardano-db-sync

Week 2 - Configure the community wrapper for cardano-cli and cardano-wallet

Week 3 - Develop the backend service that receives images and uploads them to the IPFS using the Penata IPFS gateway

Week 4 - Create the metadata generator for Jewelry traits to conform to CIP25 standards

2 month - Connector to the webshop checkout process

Week 1 - Set up NodeJs and Express server, configure the API to receive connections from front end and interact with cardano-cli and cardano-walllet

Week 2 - Test the services by sending test images and test metadata.

Week 3 - Create an API that reads the metadata of PolicyID from the blockchain and relays back to the webshop the current number of traits

Week 4 - Configure the checkout process in the webshop to send the image of the 3d model and the traits info to the backend service

3 month - Mint the NFT send to the client’s wallet or create a new wallet if the client chooses so.

Week 1 - Configure backend service to mint the NFTs using the cardano-cli wrapper

Week 2 - Configure the communication between front and backend to generate new wallets

Week 3 & 4 - Create pdf printer that takes the design of the NFT certificate and fills in with NFT metadata and image

4 month - Test the process back to front and ensure all services are working as expected: 1) the front end is querying for existing designs at a policyid 2) the backend service uploads the image of the 3d model and the 3d CAD file to IPFS; 3) the minting scripts mints the NFTS 4) the NFT certificate gets generated 5) new Cardano wallet gets generated if the client needs one.

5 month - Go live, monitoring performance in production and fixing bugs. Finally, at the end of 4 months of development and testing, we plan to launch the NFT service on the Jewelry webshop.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

1 Full stack developer @ 40 EUR per hour for 140 hours per month x 5 months = 28 000 EUR

Designer for NFT certificate @40 EUR per hour for 40 hours per month x 4 months = 6 400 EUR

Project Management @40 EUR per hour for 5 hours per month x 4 months = 800 EUR

Server expenses @15 EUR per month x 5 months = 75 EUR

TOTAL = 35 275 EUR (38 802 USD)

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

The project lead has relevant experience:

Dmitry Shibaev is leading the project. Linked in profile: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/shibaev/>

5 years experience in big tech delivering large-scale projects on the SAP system at energy companies in the south of Europe

15 years of experience in financial markets at an investment bank in London, Singapore, and Amsterdam. Built and delivered tools to manage the bank’s capital, balance sheet, and trading positions and led large investment projects.

Builds community tools; see the section below.

Built the full stack behind the Dynamic Strategies website: <https://dynamicstrategies.io> and <https://cardanobeam.app>

Dmitry was part of the first cohort of Plutus Pioneers:

NFT celebrating course completion: <https://pool.pm/asset1357ggsrjp232jwn5g7qqc9zetpsphzdawalgez>

Track Record of Building Community Tools:

A wallet connector between DApps and Wallets gives the boilerplate code for new app developers. This is how the Cardano Beam Web App interacts with Cardano web wallets, and has been open-sourced. The Github repo has 56 stars and 40 forks. The repo has been forked by IOHK

Github: <https://github.com/dynamicstrategies/cardano-wallet-connector>

App demo1: <https://cardanobeam.app/web>

App demo2: <https://dynamicstrategies.io/wconnector>

Dmitry is a Contributor to the Cardano Developer Portal with a quick start guide on how to connect the Web Apps to different Cardano web-wallets

A Public GraphQL endpoint with a web client letting anyone query the Cardano blockchain from their browser or API.

Github: <https://github.com/dynamicstrategies/cardano-public-graphql>

App: <https://dynamicstrategies.io/gqlclient>

Staking Reward Calculator synced to the blockchain that shows how much payout can be expected from different pools and analytics around it

App: https://dynamicstrategies.io/crewardcalculator

Cardano Wallet Functions that can be used in React Native apps to communicate with the cardano-wallet backend service

<https://github.com/dynamicstrategies/cardano-wallet-functions>

Received recognition for building community tools at Adafolio:

<https://adafolio.com/portfolio/8f7da192-0257-11eb-9684-a45e60be653b>

Stake Pool Operator on Cardano:

Ticker DSIO registered in 2020 and previously received a delegation from Cardano Foundation on two occasions which are usually given for outstanding contributions to the community. Link with pool details: <https://adapools.org/pool/6ae0fb9fc19ad1b82521d6e4b9f6e9bad4d150529673c95c5b5cf4e4>

Active on Cardano forum and Cardano Stack Exchange:

<https://forum.cardano.org/u/dstratio/summary>

<https://cardano.stackexchange.com/users/6196/d-s>

We have received funding on 2 out of 2 proposals that we submitted to Fund 8

Design of Custom Jewelry NFT Certificates

Elcio Chiquinado is the founder of the design agency David and Golias, which has partnered with Dynamic Strategies to deliver the following elements for Cardano Beam:

Design the brand identity of Cardano Beam
Design the UX/UI and image Assets for the Cardano Beam website, Web App, and Mobile App interfaces.
Communication templates and presentation packs
NFT design pitches for the business outreach events

<https://www.davidegolias.com/>

Linkedin: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/elciochiquinato/>

Relevant projects that Elcio delivered previously

Brand Design of D-Orbit Fenix and Aurora Sattelite control apps - Italy

<https://www.dorbit.space/>

Art Director for Vodafone Brand Design - Portugal

<https://www.vodafone.pt>

Art Director for Delta Cafes Brand Design - Portugal

<https://www.deltacafes.pt>

Art Director for SATA Airlines Brand Design - Portugal

<https://www.azoresairlines.pt>

Brand Strategy & Design for Medbone - Portugal

<https://www.medbone.eu/en>

Brand Design for RTP television channel - Portugal

<https://www.rtp.pt>

Design of the book "Coletanea Direito 50 anos" for the government - Angola

Rebranding IMI International Media Ideas - Dubai

<http://www.groupimi.com>

Before that Elcio was the Art Director of a brand design agency in Portugal, Lisbon and a Teacher at the Lisbon School of Design (https://www.lsd.pt/) where he taught courses in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign)

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

This is a one-time deliverable that will create the technology and design to offer NFT certificates to buyers of custom-designed Jewelry.

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

A report with the following KPIs will be produced at the end of each month.

Build KPIs

Number of weekly commits
Total lines of code for the backend and the front end

Delivery KPIs

Server with Cardano node and Cardano services running on the Testnet
The cardano-cli and cardano-wallet javascript wrapper libraries are installed
The backend service to upload images to IFPS is working
Backend service accepts images of the 3d model and traits of the designed jewelry, creates metadata from it, and mints an NFT
The new wallet can be generated for the client, and detail sent to the client
NFT certificate is designed and can be generated
The client checkout workflow is tested and released to production.

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

We will consider the project a success if, in the end, we deliver a working solution that shows the clients the uniqueness of the traits as they are customizing their Jewelry design, and after checking out, they receive a professionally designed NFT certificate in PDF format with the image of the 3d model used and the traits in that were used to build it.

The NFT will be delivered to the client’s existing Cardano wallet, or a new wallet will be created for the client, and the NFT deposited there.

The client will also be given a link to where they can view the NFT as it sits on the blockchain and other Jewelry items in the same collection (same PolicyID)

A successful project will bring new users to the Cardano ecosystem as every client will have a Cardano wallet.

It will leverage existing community tools such as the javascript wrapper for cardano-cli and cardano-wallet services.

And it will solve an actual use case for non-crypto users - the purchase of the NFT will be included in the Jewelry sale price, for which they will pay in crypto or fiat depending on the onramp of the webshop. It will be integrated into a standard web shopping experience.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This is a new proposal

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

SDG Goals

8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SDG Subgoals

8.2 - Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors

9.1 - Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all

9.b - Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities

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