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Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
The main Mosque in Oman was funded and commissioned by Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, and took over six years to build. It was inaugurated on May 4, 2001 – an emblematic achievement in art and design that is renowned worldwide.
The Mosque is home to the largest single-piece hand-woven carpet in existence. This feat of artistic and artisanal prowess measures 70 by 30 metres, and weighs in at 21 tonnes. Made from 28 different colours of wool and cotton, the Persian carpet contains 1.7 billion knots; it took 600 weavers from Khorasan province in Iran 4 years to make it.
Particular attention was also paid to the Mosque’s lighting; it is lit up by a total of 35 crystal chandeliers. The most spectacular of these, in the centre of the prayer hall, boasts a total of 1122 bulbs. It is the largest chandelier in the world, 8 metres in diameter and 14 metres high, and weighing 8 tonnes.
“The Islamic Collection” by Louis Moinet
Louis Moinet has produced a set of five artistic watches, each a unique piece, designed to show off the artistic beauty of the Arab world by depicting its most beautiful Mosques. The “Islamic Collection” features the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Al-Masjid An-Nabawī in Medina, Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca, Al-Masjid Al-Aqṣā in Al-Quds, and Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
“Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque” by Louis Moinet
“When you have the good fortune to be crafting an artistic rendition of one of the finest palaces of the faith, you also have the responsibility to put all your heart into the exercise,” says Jean-Marie Schaller, CEO and Creative Director of Louis Moinet.
The tourbillon adds movement to the piece, but it is the dial that really captures the viewer’s attention. The Mosque shines in all its glory – hand-painted on the purest mother-of-pearl. A miniaturist provided her own unique touch to bring her creation to life. Her special technique, calling for long, painstaking hours of work, makes the successive coats of paint appear particularly light; the resulting artistic, artisanal masterpiece is without parallel. To crown it all, special luminous material has been inserted into the Dome and base of the Mosque to light it up at night.
The white gold case has been set with 56 best quality baguette diamonds. The price of this timepiece, redolent with heritage value, has been set at CHF 825,500.00.
