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It’s all about the yen-jamins, baby!

What better way to keep COVID-19 contagions away than with crystals, diamonds and pearls? For a cool million yen ($9,600), fashion-forward Japanese influencers can now protect themselves against the spread of the coronavirus with handcrafted face masks, dripping in the finest of jewels and gems.

Aiming to quell coronavirus melancholy amid the pandemic, Cox Co. — a branch of retailing group Aeon Co. — launched Mask.com, offering its line of luxe face guards last week in the hopes that the glitz and glam of the pricey PPE might make people “feel better.”

“Everyone is feeling down because of the coronavirus and it would be great if they could feel better by looking at one of these glittering masks,” Azusa Kajitaka, a mask concierge at the company’s store near Tokyo station, told Reuters on Wednesday.

The brand’s dazzling diamond mask is decked out with a 0.7 carat diamond and more than 300 pieces of Swarovski crystal. And the pearl face protector glows with the light of over 330 Japanese Akoya pearls.

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A diamond with 0.70-carats shines on a luxury face mask decorated with the diamond, platinum and Swarovski crystals.
A diamond with 0.70-carats shines on a luxury face mask decorated with the diamond, platinum and Swarovski crystals. REUTERS
The company's pearl-lined mask.
The company's pearl-lined mask.REUTERS
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Mask.com hoped the luxe masks would bring some sparkle to an otherwise sad moment in time.
Mask.com hoped the luxe masks would bring some sparkle to an otherwise sad moment in time.REUTERS
Shoppers are seen at the face mask speciality shop Mask.com
Shoppers are seen at the face mask speciality shop Mask.com.REUTERS
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The costly Cox masks also serve as a much needed financial boost to the COVID-depressed fashion industry.

“The jewelry 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 revitalize Japan,” Kajitaka said.

Stateside, other designers have sought to capture the luxury face covering market — Brooklyn-based tailor Yosel Tiefenbrun’s  bespoke masks go for up to $300 a pop. But designer Israeli jeweler Yvel holds the gold for fashioning the world’s most expensive mask, a $1.5 million piece decorated with 250 grams of 18-karat gold.

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