Israeli Jeweller Is Making The World's Most Expensive Coronavirus Mask

An Israeli jewellery company is working on what it claims will be the world's most expensive coronavirus mask. This 18-carat white gold mask encrusted with 3,600 white and black diamonds and fitted with top-rated N99 filters at the request of the buyer, will be priced at $1.5 million (about Rs 11 crore) said designer Isaac Levy to The Associated Press news agency.

Image credit: Associated Press

Levy, the owner of the Yvel company, said the buyer had two other demands: that it be completed by the end of the year, and that it would be the priciest in the world. That last condition, he said, "was the easiest to fulfill."

He declined to identify the buyer but said he was a Chinese businessman living in the US.

Weighing 270 grams, which is nearly 100 times that of a typical surgical mask, it is not a practical replacement for the protective gear, which is now mandatory in public spaces in most countries.

The AP pointed out in the interview at Levy's factory near Jerusalem, that the purchase of the very expensive COVID-19 mask may rub the wrong way at a time when millions of people around the world are out of work or suffering economically. To this, Levy said that while he would not wear it himself, he was thankful for the opportunity.

"I am happy that this mask gave us enough work for our employees to be able to provide their jobs in very challenging times like these times right now," he said.