NTD
BEIRUT -A family business in Lebanon is manufacturing soap not only with ingredients such as fragrant plants and essential oils, but also with diamonds and gold.
The artisan handmade soap was created as a special gift for Qatar’s First Lady.  The six ounce, palm-sized soap, valued at two-thousand-eight-hundred U.S. dollars, looks and smells the same as traditional Lebanese olive soap. But it contains just over a quarter-of-an-ounce of diamond powder and over half-an-ounce of gold powder. The manufacturer says the rough texture of the soap, combined with its 11 kinds of precious fragrant plants and essential oils, has exceptional skincare effects.  Amir Hassoun, Soap Manufacturer:
‘That kind of soap, it’s a change of shower from daily routine to a pleasure. It’s not only the most expensive soap in the world because it’s only made of gold and diamond.  It’s really something special, have a special psychological and spiritual effect on human being.’ Hassoun’s soap-making business has been in the family for generations, and is based in Tripoli, the hub of Lebanon’s soap industry.