Rs 30.8m tome on Ferrari with 1,500 diamonds:
Lankan buys world’s most expensive book
A Sri Lankan has become the first in the world to buy the world’s
most expensive book currently in print - an astounding Rs.30.8 million
(US$ 275,000) worth tome on carmaker Ferrari encrusted with 1,500
diamonds. In comparison, a Ferrari 458 Italia car costs only around US$
225,000.
Only 300 copies of the 37 Kg, 872 page book will ever be published,
at the rate of just one copy per country. The Sri Lankan Ferrari
aficionado identified only as Arjun Wickramasinghe, a senior executive
of a publishing company, has told publisher Opus Media Group that he was
buying the book for his son. Incidentally, there are only a very few
Ferraris in Sri Lanka. The only other buyer of the book so far is from
Australia but wealthy car lovers from Italy, USA, UK and UAE are waiting
in line. Titled “Enzo Diamente Edition - The Official Ferrari Opus” the
book is a remarkable homage to the famous prancing horse from Maranello.
The 1,500 diamonds (30 carats) have been used to create Ferrari’s
prancing horse logo on the cover of the book with painstaking precision.
Founded by Enzo Ferrari in Modena in 1929, the Italian company is
commemorating its history by publishing the world’s most expensive book
ever.
This collector’s piece, released at the Melbourne Grand Prix in
March, contains every detail of every race Ferrari has entered, plus
exclusive interviews and profiles of every driver who raced for the
team. Of the 200,000 words and 2,000 pictures in the book, nearly 75
percent is exclusive, never-seen-before-in-print content. The Opus
includes gatefold pictures, two metres long and exclusive interviews
with motorsport legends who have been part of Ferrari’s unique history.
Publishing director for Opus Media Group Antonio Ghini, said,
“Ferrari Opus is not a book, it’s a concerto. A triumphant opera whose
score is made up of cars, technology, history and achievements, and
whose protagonists will live forever. Opus, like Ferrari, is a unique
experience.”
Siroya Collections, a Dubai-based diamond jewellery company, was
chosen to create the diamond-encrusted silver prancing horse that graces
each of the 300 copies of this special diamante edition.
At the end of the sale of the books, the owners automatically qualify
for a raffle to win a Ferrari F1 car.
The original budgeted schedule for the Ferrari Opus was set at 12
months for complete content creation. It actually took three years to
create the massive tome.
“It reflects the craftsmanship and investment value and rarity that
each one of those special copies holds. It does not have a value. It is
priceless. The owner of the Sri Lanka edition of the Ferrari Diamante
told me recently that he bought his copy not for himself but for his son
- he wants to hand it down in years to come. That put a big smile on my
face,” CEO of the Opus Media Group, Karl Fowler told Gulf News.
For those who can’t afford the $275,000 Enzo Diamante edition, the
book will be soon available in three other editions: $34,925 Enzo, the
$6,545 Cavallino Rampante and the $3,520 Classic.
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