Brew diamonds
The British, they say, value tea to extreme ends. But even that pales in comparison to this, The Egoist Teapot, recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive teapot in the world. Valued at US$3 million (RM12.3 million), the teapot is the brainchild of Nirmal Sethia, founder of the N Sethia Foundation and Newby Teas of London. Designed by Sethia himself and made by Milanese jeweller Scavia, the Egoist Teapot is studded with some 1,658 diamonds and 386 rubies, with a 6.67 carat Thai ruby as the centrepiece on the side, a 20.7 carat ruby topping the lid and a handle made from fossilized mammoth ivory.
Unveiled at Mosimann’s in Belgravia, London, the teapot was created to ‘raise awareness globally of the historic and cultural importance of tea, a magical refreshment that has lasted over millennia and is part of the fabric of civilisations from the Tang Dynasty to the modern era.’ It may be an excuse for extravagance, but The Egoist has utility too – to break it in, Sethia brewed a serving of rare Muscari tea for its unveiling. It will then go on to form part of Sethia’s Chitra Collection, a compendium of more than 1,700 tea-related items named after Sethia’s wife that includes Lord Nelson’s silver teapot, a thousand year old Chinese Song Dynasty tea set and a hand-painted service owned by King Louis XVII of France, valued in total at some £160 million (RM866 million).
