Zafirro, known for creating the world’s most expensive razor (a piece with an iridium handle and sapphire blades), is now crowdfunding its original Z2 shaver with a much more reasonable price thanks to the quickly falling prices of sapphire. The handle is losing the iridium composition naturally as that option alone costs tens of thousands of dollars.
Zafirro is using Kickstarter to fund its next run of the Z2 razor, with options starting at $149 for a single sapphire shaver, about $150 less than the expected asking price. While this first tier has already been claimed, there are other options at discounted prices of $179 and $229 still available.
A special offer also allows prospective owners to be among the first to get their hands on the Z2 with a $279 option to receive the razor in October of 2016 instead of the expected December 2016 delivery date.
Zafirro expects its sapphire blades to last anywhere from six to 12 months thanks to sapphire’s innate hardness (second-hardest after diamond). Replacement blades are expected to retail for $49.
While the initial investment might be high for a razor, Zifarro believes its Z2 will last longer and have a positive “green” effect in an industry that produces an estimated two billion razor blades that end up in landfills at the end of each year.