Luxurious face masks on sale for INR 7,07,986 in Japan

Protection gear or Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suddenly occupies a central role in our lives today. Masks, gloves, hazmat suits and sanitisers play a key role in curbing the spread of this deadly virus or ‘flattening the curve.’

The mask as a product has grabbed a lot of attention and has also fostered a new wave of fashion trends.

The most popular upshot of this pandemic is masks, in all shapes, sizes, colors and flamboyancy, have broken the internet. This time around it's the masks from Japan adorned with diamonds and Swarovski crystals, with some masks made of pearls, selling for a whopping million yen (Rs 7,07,986, approximately).

Cox Co's Mask.com chain began selling the handmade masks last week with the aim of cheering up people and spurring sales in a fashion industry depressed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The diamond masks are embellished with a 0.7 carat diamond and more than 300 pieces of Swarovski crystal, while the pearl masks contain some 330 Japanese Akoya pearls.

"The jewellery and fabric industries have also been in a slump because of the coronavirus and so we did this as part of a project to help revitalise Japan," she added.

Cox, part of retailing 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 the million-yen masks might be out of their league.

The Japanese masks are still far from the world's most expensive. That honour belongs to a $1.5 million mask made with 250 grams of 18 karat gold designed by Israeli jeweller Yvel.