Yvel, an Israeli luxury jewelry company, is working on what it says will be the world's most expensive coronavirus mask, a gold, diamond-encrusted face covering with a price tag of $1.5 million, AP news agency reported on Sunday.
Isaac Levy, the owner of the company and designer, said the 18-karat white gold mask will be decorated with 3,600 white and black diamonds and fitted with top-rated N99 filters at the request of the buyer.
Levy added that the buyer, an anonymous Chinese businessman living in the United States, 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 fulfil."
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.
The mask weighs 270 grams, which is nearly 100 times that of a typical surgical mask.
