India / TN man makes mask using gold threads worth ₹2.75 lakh; pics surface

Coimbatore: After a Pune businessman got himself a customised gold mask worth ₹2.89 lakh, a Coimbatore-based goldsmith has designed masks using gold and silver threads.

Made using 18-carat gold, the unique mask costs ₹2.75 lakh while the silver mask costs ₹15,000. Radhakrishnan Sundaram Acharya, who belongs to a family of goldsmiths, has designed the masks using 0.06 millimeters thin gold and silver threads.

"I'm aware that a common man cannot afford to wear these masks, but rich people can use them for royal weddings. So far, I have received nine orders, most of which are from north India," Acharya said.

The main reason behind designing the mask is to create awareness about the need to wear these during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said adding that it takes seven days to complete one mask.

According to Acharya, he has a craze for doing something different. Three years ago, he left his job at a jewelry manufacturing company and since then he is he's designing various items of gold using thin metal threads. He designs a variety of apparel, handbags, umbrellas, among other things.

Earlier in the month, businessman Shankar Kurhade, a resident of Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad town, had got himself a customised gold mask worth ₹2.89 lakh.

In Odisha also, a 55-year-old businessman Alok Mohanty, who owns a furniture store in Cuttack city and is a fan of anything made of the yellow metal, has procured a golden mask worth ₹3.5 lakh. Elastic bands are attached to the golden mask for a secure fit and it is quite comfortable to wear, he said.

Asked from where did he get the idea of such a mask, Mohanty said, "While watching television some time ago, I saw someone in Maharashtra wearing a mask made of gold. Since I have a tremendous weakness for gold, I decided to get one for myself."

Mohanty got in touch with a jewellery shop in Mumbai, which sent him a catalogue. He chose a design and placed an order and it took 22 days to make the mask. The businessman said he has caps and watches made of gold or lined with the yellow metal.