Shiny star
Designers offer extravagant kippot
If you find yourself with tens of thousands of dollars spare this Hanukka - well have I got a gift idea for you!
Over the past two months, two stores have offered up pricey diamond-encrusted kippot for the perfect complement to your high-end designer outfit.
In October, the ModernTribe.com Judaica seller unveiled the priciest item on their website: A $36,000 kippa, made of Italian leather, white gold and almost three carats of diamonds. Yes, diamonds.
But in case that price tag is just pocket change for you, celebrity artist Toks Daniel announced last week the creation of “the world’s most precious yarmulke,” dotted with Swarovski crystals and crowned with a flawless two-carat diamond. That one will only set you back $167,000.
The yarmulke by Daniel, a Nigerian artist, is being offered up on the luxury website VeryFirstTo.com.
According to the site, Daniel said, “Whilst I was a youngster in Nigeria, Jews had a rather exotic image. The more I have since been exposed to Jews and Judaism, the more I have become enamored with its rituals, principles and aesthetics. My Yarmulke design is a manifestation of my enchantment with the religion.”
According to the website, the diamond atop the kippa is certified as conflict-free, and if someone purchases it, a $1,330 donation will be made to the Chabad House in Nigeria. If the crystal-encrusted creation has appeal but the price is to steep, there is also an option to purchase the yarmulke without the crowning diamond for a mere $9,300.
But if small diamonds are more your thing, then the ModernTribe.com creation is for you. That yarmulke is made with 873 conflict-free diamonds hand placed in a Star of David pattern. According to the site, the navy leather is sourced in Italy and sewn in Sydney, while the gold comes from Mumbai and the final touches are placed in Chicago.
According to Amy Kritzer, founder and president of ModernTribe, “We’d love for Drake to rock one at shul. Or Andy Cohen would look like the mensch he truly is. The kippa is the perfect expression of Jewish pride at any wedding or bar mitzva. It’s extravagant but definitely memorable.”
But you need to plan ahead: The fine print notes that the item takes up to six months to create and ship. Hanukka 2018 anyone?