An NFT (non-fungible token) virtual necklace was launched as a world first at the Palace of Culture in northeastern Iasi and gifted to Nadia Comaneci, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the first perfect 10 score in gymnastics, during the Romanian Creative Week festival of the Romanian creative industry.

The unique virtual necklace was created by designer Irina Schrotter, architect Vlad Tenu, visual artist Andrei Cozlac and IT expert Andrei Danila and was presented to the public for the first time on Thursday, in the Hall of Voivodes of the Palace of Culture in Iasi.

"What we've done is an artistic creation designed from the start as an NFT. It does not exist in physical form, but only in this digital representation. That's what makes it unique in Romania, in the world, through the fact that it is an homage brought to a world class athlete such as Nadia Comaneci," said IT expert Andrei Danila.

The creation of the four artists from various domains is to be a gift for great gymnast Nadia Comaneci and is also the first NFT necklace brought as an homage to a great athlete, thus being a world first.

"The virtual necklace is made of ten pieces, symbolizing that perfect 10 that Nadia obtained in Montreal in 1976. Each piece of the necklace represents, in tridimensional form, one of the moves from the beam, floor, uneven bars and the vault events which Nadia Comaneci made an impression with, 45 years ago, on the jury of the Summer Olympic Games. The ten moves, some already named 'Comaneci', were chosen by Nadia together with the four creators - Irina Schrotter, Vlad Tenu, Andrei Cozlac and Andrei Danila, from the exercises which the great gymnast rendered seven 10 scores with. The virtual jewel, impossible to copy, as its originality is guaranteed by the new NFT certification, was given to Nadia Comaneci, on Thursday, June 3, as a sign of appreciation for the remarkable performance nearly half a century ago. The unique gift offered to Nadia Comaneci is, at the same time, also a gift for the fans of the 'Goddess of Montreal.' The four Romanian creatives have created six replicas of the homage necklace, which, together with the jewel given to the poster child of world gymnastics, symbolizes that string of seven perfect 10 scores," said journalist Irina Pacurariu during the presentation of the necklace given to Nadia Comaneci.

"Greetings from far away, from Oklahoma. Though I regret not being in Iasi, together with the four creatives of the Romanian Creative Week, Irina, Vlad and the two Andreis, I am glad to see that my performances from 45 years ago still inspire the young generation. I liked the idea of new pioneering, this time at the crossroads between sports performance and technology. On July 18, 45 years will have passed since the first historical 10, on the uneven bars, and the virtual necklace, The Perfect 1.0, with the story around it, is proof that excellence is possible. I wait for these NFTs to be launched, on the OpenSea platform, and to celebrate together a new success story," said Nadia Comaneci through a video message.

The artists who created this unique necklace claim that NFTs are the new art form, and have worked on the necklace for several months.

Architect Vlad Tenu claims that this necklace speaks firstly about collaboration, creativity and performance, adding that going from tridimensional to visual was a stage all of its own.AGERPRES(RO - author: Daniela Malache, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - author: Razvan-Adrian Pandea, editor: Maria Voican)