7:35 pm, August 26, 2008
WE thought we’d seen it all, part 86.
London-based Alchemist is showing off its latest ‘finishing touch’ at this year’s MPH Show.
A 24-carat gold roof.
That’s right. For prices starting from £12,500, your customers after only the best can cover their car’s roof in the purest gold leaf, via a patented process.
Just in case they have any doubts, each roof is signed, numbered and coupled with a certificate of authenticity.
The company has already carried out customisations on Bentleys, Porsches, Mercedes and an Aston Martin. And the Kensington-based company, run by French art director Jacques Blanc, says business is booming.
Not that it’s a new business, says Blanc. ‘The Egyptians mastered the technique more than 3000 years ago and Tutankhamun’s chariot was decorated with gold leaves. We are simply continuing this ancient and opulent tradition.’
Of course, that isn’t enough for some. A mere gold roof? Pah? For such folk, Alchemist can embed gemstones into the gold leaf, for that all-important finishing touch…
