14 DAY TRIAL // Pankaj Parakh, an Indian textile magnate, turns 45 this Friday. To mark the event, he got himself a shirt that is nothing short of a head turner. And an utter eyesore, some might want to add.
The shirt, pictured next to this article, weighs an impressive 4 kilograms (approximately 8.8 pounds). This is because it is entirely made of solid gold, a precious metal this this textile magnate is without a doubt very fond of.
The following piece of information might sound a bit like something one would expect to read in fairy tales but, by the looks of it, the shirt was made by as many as 20 craftsmen who spent about 3,200 hours piecing it together.
The shirt took about two months to complete. According to Daily Mail, the craftsmen who made it work at a shop dubbed Shanti Jewellers. This shop, which one can only assume is a high-end one, sits in Mumbai's Parel neighborhood.
Information shared with the public says that the gold used to make this shirt has an 18 to 22 carat purity. Hence the fact that the precious metal used by the craftsmen to make this positively stunning piece of clothing cost £127,000 (€159,952 / $213,915).
Despite being made of gold, the shirt is very soft and wearing it feels very much like wearing a regular piece of clothing made of cotton or some other similar fabric. Besides, it's fairly easy to wash and dry, the textile magnate maintains.
By the looks of it, Pankaj Parakh commissioned this shirt not just because he was dying to walk around in an outfit bound to make people turn green with envy (or disgust, for that matter). On the contrary, he wanted to wear it to a very special event.
“I wanted to wear something special when I say my thanks for my success at a thanksgiving visit to the Siddhivinayak Temple of the Hindu elephant god in Mumbai,” the 45-year-old Indian textile magnate reportedly told the press in a recent interview.
Religious purposes aside, it looks like Pankaj Parakh is not entirely opposed to the idea of being admired and envied by ordinary folks who cannot afford such shirts. Thus, he very much liked it when, while walking down the street dressed like this, both men and women could not help but look at him.
Word has it that, because of how expensive this shirt is, the 45-year-old can only wear it in public when accompanied by bodyguards. These bodyguards are also featured in the photo accompanying this article. For those who haven't figured things out, they are the men in black.
The 45-year-old Indian textile magnate says that he has been head over heels in love with gold ever since he was a kid. His wife and his two sons have learned to accept him for who he is, and wouldn't even dream to poke fun at him and his passion for the precious metal.
“I have always been fascinated with gold since I was five-years-old and studying in school. And over the years that interest has become a real passion. So it was logical that I would want to make my 45th birthday a golden affair,” Pankaj Parakh told the press.
“I am the only one in the family that seems so passionate about gold, the rest of my family is neither impressed or interested in gold. They just accept that it's my passion and it's part of our domestic life. My more extended family however think I'm a bit weird but I guess that's families,” he added.