Zafirro
Zafirro铱金剃须刀有蓝宝石刀片、一个铱金手柄和一个10万美元的价格标签。
你
会为了把胡子刮干净花上10万美元去买一把剃须刀吗？
Zafirro
Zafirro公司位于美国俄勒冈州波特兰市，是初创公司培育机构Bright Light Ventures的子公司。前不久该公司推出了一款铱金材质的限量版剃须刀。铱金是一种类似于白金的耐久的稀有金属。
这一款铱金剃须刀已于6月20日投放市场。据汉密尔顿说，他们已经接到数十个订单──其中一些订单来自中国、香港和日本。该公司将营销目标锁定在限量版奢侈品的收藏者和那些“喜欢极致产品，不在乎价格”的前卫型消费者。
为什么要进入这个由生产一次性剃须刀片的吉列（Gillette）公司之类的企业主宰的行业呢？汉密尔顿说，“在过去的40年里，这个行业鲜有创新。” 汉密尔顿曾经供职于福特汽车（Ford Motors）在欧洲的创新部门，负责为不同的车型开发新的功能。
那他怎样看待竞争对手的产品内安装的内置润滑条等功能呢？
汉密尔顿对这种功能很不以为然。他说，“据我所知，没有任何人（对这个功能）特别感兴趣。依我看，这和将啤酒易拉罐在冰箱里放几个小时后，罐上的文字变成蓝色没有多大区别。”
他向“风尚亚洲”的记者介绍了为什么这一款剃须刀定价高达100,000美元。
蓝宝石刀片：Zafirro公司称，这款铱金剃须刀是世界上第一款装有蓝宝石刀片的剃须刀。汉密尔顿说，“这个（纯白）蓝宝石刀片用一整块宝石做成，其刀刃比钢刃还要锋利。我们曾经考虑过用先进工艺制造出来的陶瓷刀片，但是刀刃太厚。”这样的蓝宝石刀刃只有80个原子的厚度──比一根头发的直径还要薄很多。
铱金手柄：这款剃须刀的手柄由不锈钢和铱金制造。但是，汉密尔顿说，手柄的“骨架”都是由铱金制成的。
他说，“这种稀有金属比白金珍贵10倍，材料主要来自陨石，是耐用性最佳的功能性金属，过去50年里主要用来制造火箭发动机。”
只有99位顾客有幸可以买到这种剃须刀：虽然Zafirro公司希望“进入‘主流奢侈品’领域，能够出售100,000美元以下的（剃须刀），”但是汉密尔顿说，这种价位的剃须刀中只有很少的一部分会使用铱金材料。
实际上，第一批在售的铱金剃须刀只有区区99把。
“劳动力密集型”剃须刀：虽然Zafirro在美国的全职设计团队只有七个人，但是该公司动用了“世界范围内的50到150位专家”来设计这款铱金剃须刀。
汉密尔顿说，“要不是身处互联网时代，根本无法拥有（这样强大的专家队伍），我们聘请了在蓝宝石研究方面已有50至60年经验的前苏联乌克兰实验室的蓝宝石研发专家、在剃刀刀片行业已有30至40年从业经验的技师以及机械制造、纳米技术和奢侈品领域的专家，甚至还有材料科学的博士。”
美国制造：虽然Zafirro拥有全球专家网络，但这款铱金剃须刀“85%到90%”的工序是在美国完成的。汉密尔顿说，“只有高端医疗设备制造商有（制造这款铱金剃须刀的）技术，美国之外没有任何人能够达到我们的要求。”
汉密尔顿补充说，这款剃须刀享有Zafirro公司的10年保修服务，如果顾客在此期间将刀片送来校准或打磨的话，“售后服务将主要在波特兰完成。”
Kristiano Ang
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
Would you pay $100,000 for a close shave?
Hayden Hamilton, chief executive officer of Zafirro hopes that at least 99 people will.
The Portland, Ore.-based company, which is a subsidiary of start-up incubator Bright Light Ventures, has released a limited-edition series of razors made of iridium, a durable, rare metal similar to platinum.
The Zafirro Iridium went on sale June 20. Mr. Hamilton says there have already been dozens of orders ─ including some from customers in China, Hong Kong and Japan. The marketing is being targeted at limited edition luxury product collectors and early adopters who 'appreciate extremely well made products, regardless of their cost.'
Why enter an industry dominated by companies like Gillette, which produces disposable blades? 'There has been a lack of innovation in this industry for the last four decades' says Mr. Hamilton, who used to work at Ford Motors' innovation department in Europe, developing new features for different car lines.
But what does he make of features like built-in lubricating strips that his competitors are adding to their products?
Mr. Hamilton is dismissive of them. 'I've yet to meet anyone who has been excited [about these features],' he says, 'I see it as roughly on par with a beer can's writing turning blue after it's been in the fridge for a few hours.'
He discusses what goes into a $100,000 razor with Scene Asia.
Sapphire blades: Zafirro says that the Iridium is the world's first razor with sapphire blades. 'The [solid-white] sapphire is made from a single crystal with a finer tip than steel,' says Mr. Hamilton. 'We looked at advanced ceramics as well, but the tip was too big.' The sapphire blade is about 80 atoms wide considerably thinner than a human hair.
Iridium handles: The handle of the blade is made from stainless steel and iridium, but Mr. Hamilton says that the bit that makes up the handle's 'skeleton' is produced from the rare metal.
'It's 10 times rarer than platinum and made mainly from meteorites,' he says. 'It's the strongest functional metal and has been used for making rocket models for the last 50 years.'
The 100th customer is out of luck: While Zafirro hopes to 'move to a 'mainstream luxury' realm where we can sell [razors] for less than $100,000,' Mr. Hamilton says, only a very small amount of them will be made from iridium.
In fact, only 99 blades from the initial collection will be made available for sale.
A labor-intensive shave: While Zafirro's seven-man in-house crew is based in the United States, the company tapped '50 to 150 experts around the world' to create the Iridium.
'You couldn't get [this talent pool] before the age of the Internet,' says Mr. Hamilton. 'We had R&D experts in sapphire from former Soviet labs in Ukraine who've worked for 50 to 60 years on sapphire, people with 30 to 40 years in the razor-blade industry, experts in manufacturing, nanotechnology, luxury experts and even Ph.Ds in material science.'
Made in the U.S.A.: Zafirro may have a global network of experts but '85% to 90%' of the Iridium was made in America. 'Only people like high-end medical-device makers have the technology [to create the Iridium],' says Mr. Hamilton. 'Nobody outside of the U.S. could meet our requirements.'
And if you send your blade back for recalibration or sharpening anytime within Zafirro's 10-year guarantee, he adds, 'It will be serviced initially in Portland.'
Kristiano Ang
Hayden Hamilton, chief executive officer of Zafirro hopes that at least 99 people will.
The Portland, Ore.-based company, which is a subsidiary of start-up incubator Bright Light Ventures, has released a limited-edition series of razors made of iridium, a durable, rare metal similar to platinum.
The Zafirro Iridium went on sale June 20. Mr. Hamilton says there have already been dozens of orders ─ including some from customers in China, Hong Kong and Japan. The marketing is being targeted at limited edition luxury product collectors and early adopters who 'appreciate extremely well made products, regardless of their cost.'
Why enter an industry dominated by companies like Gillette, which produces disposable blades? 'There has been a lack of innovation in this industry for the last four decades' says Mr. Hamilton, who used to work at Ford Motors' innovation department in Europe, developing new features for different car lines.
But what does he make of features like built-in lubricating strips that his competitors are adding to their products?
Mr. Hamilton is dismissive of them. 'I've yet to meet anyone who has been excited [about these features],' he says, 'I see it as roughly on par with a beer can's writing turning blue after it's been in the fridge for a few hours.'
He discusses what goes into a $100,000 razor with Scene Asia.
Sapphire blades: Zafirro says that the Iridium is the world's first razor with sapphire blades. 'The [solid-white] sapphire is made from a single crystal with a finer tip than steel,' says Mr. Hamilton. 'We looked at advanced ceramics as well, but the tip was too big.' The sapphire blade is about 80 atoms wide considerably thinner than a human hair.
Iridium handles: The handle of the blade is made from stainless steel and iridium, but Mr. Hamilton says that the bit that makes up the handle's 'skeleton' is produced from the rare metal.
'It's 10 times rarer than platinum and made mainly from meteorites,' he says. 'It's the strongest functional metal and has been used for making rocket models for the last 50 years.'
The 100th customer is out of luck: While Zafirro hopes to 'move to a 'mainstream luxury' realm where we can sell [razors] for less than $100,000,' Mr. Hamilton says, only a very small amount of them will be made from iridium.
In fact, only 99 blades from the initial collection will be made available for sale.
A labor-intensive shave: While Zafirro's seven-man in-house crew is based in the United States, the company tapped '50 to 150 experts around the world' to create the Iridium.
'You couldn't get [this talent pool] before the age of the Internet,' says Mr. Hamilton. 'We had R&D experts in sapphire from former Soviet labs in Ukraine who've worked for 50 to 60 years on sapphire, people with 30 to 40 years in the razor-blade industry, experts in manufacturing, nanotechnology, luxury experts and even Ph.Ds in material science.'
Made in the U.S.A.: Zafirro may have a global network of experts but '85% to 90%' of the Iridium was made in America. 'Only people like high-end medical-device makers have the technology [to create the Iridium],' says Mr. Hamilton. 'Nobody outside of the U.S. could meet our requirements.'
And if you send your blade back for recalibration or sharpening anytime within Zafirro's 10-year guarantee, he adds, 'It will be serviced initially in Portland.'
Kristiano Ang
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