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TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese trendsetters can now guard against the coronavirus in lavish style with opulent masks adorned with diamonds and pearls for an incredible million yen ($ 9,600) each.
Cox Co’s Mask.com chain began selling the handmade masks last week, with the goal of cheering people up and spurring sales in a fashion industry depressed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The diamond masks are adorned with a 0.7-carat diamond and more than 300 pieces of Swarovski crystal, while the pearl masks contain some 330 Japanese Akoya pearls.
“Everyone is feeling depressed about the coronavirus and it would be great if they could feel better looking at one of these glowing masks,” Azusa Kajitaka, a mask janitor at the company’s store near Tokyo station, told Reuters.
“The jewelry and fabrics industries have also been in a slump due to the coronavirus and so we did it as part of a project to help revitalize Japan,” he added.
Cox, part of retail group Aeon Co, has opened Mask.com online and in six physical locations since September, offering more than 200 types of masks starting at 500 yen.
Some visitors to the store on Wednesday were concerned that the million yen masks were out of reach.
“If I wear one of these masks, I have to wear the right fashion to match it. So I think it’s a bit embarrassing (to dress up),” said 66-year-old Mitsue Kaneko.
Japanese masks are still far from being the most expensive in the world. That honor belongs to a $ 1.5 million mask made from 250 grams of 18-karat gold designed by Israeli jeweler Yvel.
($ 1 = 104.4900 yen)
(Reporting by Akira Tomoshige; written by Chris Gallagher; edited by Christian Schmollinger)
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