A Dubai expat's ambitious plan to introduce a brand of Burj Khalifa-themed luxury water bottles to the UAE in the lead up to Expo 2020 will also see the creation of the world's most expensive - fully platinum and diamond encrusted - water bottle and the world's tallest crystal bottle.
According to Danish inventor Tayseer Hadi, the water bottles will be approximately half a meter tall; the 750ml 'Burj Khalifa Water' bottle will be made of K9 crystal, and will include LED lights in a removable base to give the water - which will probably be imported from Iceland - a blue glow. Hadi told Khaleej Times he came up with the idea in 2013 to represent Dubai's creativity and constant quest to be innovative, and hopes that the bottles - which he estimates will sell for approximately $191 - will one day become an iconic Dubai souvenir.
"When I first came to Dubai I wanted to create something that was different. I've always been interested in the water business, and I saw it as something that would bloom," he said. "Then one day I was in The Dubai Mall, and I was sitting in a restaurant wondering why we're drinking Voss water, Evian water. Why doesn't Dubai have a water that represents Dubai? "It suddenly hit me that I'd make a water in the shape of the Burj Khalifa," he said.
"It took almost three years. Because of the design, almost no factory wanted to do it." To celebrate the launch of Burj Khalifa water, Hadi said he's planning a charity event, which he's billing the world's 'first water bottle charity event,' in which the world's most expensive charity water bottle - a fully platinum version of the Burj Khalifa bottle covered with one carat diamonds and covered in sparkling diamond dust - will be auctioned off for charity, alongside three solid gold bottles.
Hadi plans to build the world's largest crystal bottle, which he one day hopes will be displayed in The Dubai Mall and at local airports. "There are a lot of limitations of what's possible, but what I'm hoping for is about seven metres and 28 centimeters." Of the sales of the bottles, 2.5 percent will go to Emirates Noble Palms, a charity organisation founded by Hadi and designed to let donors see the impact of their donation on the recipients. "The most beautiful thing about giving is to actually see the appreciations and the smiles from the difference you're making in someone else's life," he said.
By Bernd Debusmann Jr.
Editor's note: This article has been edited from the source material.
