(NEXSTAR) — While the guidance can be vague, it’s a good rule of thumb to drink water throughout the day. There is hardly a wrong answer when it comes to where that water comes from, either, whether it be a once-trendy Stanley, a cup filled by your faucet, or a bottle.
How much you pay for the latter, in particular, is also entirely up to you.
You may gawk at the price of bottled water at, say, sporting events. At Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, a bottle of water will cost you between $5.49 and $10.49, an online menu shows.
If you’re a water connoisseur, however, paying more than $10 for a bottle may feel like getting a deal.
Believe it or not, buying bottled water can, in some cases, feel more like you’re buying a bottle of wine, complete with equally eye-popping price tags and detailed descriptions of the beverage’s flavor.
A 2024 report from Svalbardi, a bottled water company specializing in iceberg water, said the most expensive bottle of water would set you back at least $1,390 a liter. What makes this water so special, you ask? The company behind it, Fillico, bills it as “Jewelry Water,” selling it in a bottle complete with crystals and filled with water sourced from springs of Kobe, Japan.
The specific bottle Svalbardi highlighted appears to no longer be available on Fillico’s website. The Japan-based company does, however, have a leopard Jewelry Water selling for ¥49,500, or about $335. You’re also warned not to get the jewel-encrusted bottle wet, as the decorative stones adorning it may discolor.
There must be more expensive water, you’re probably thinking. And you’d be correct.
Fine Liquids, a German-based international water retailer, is currently selling what it claims is the “last bottle available worldwide” of Svalbardi: Arctic Glacier Water (yes, the same Svalbardi mentioned above).
The water is sourced from icebergs in Kongsfjord, Norway, with the ice “gently melted in a specially designed machine and bottled by hand” in a vessel made of high-quality glass. The Svalbardi water is described as having “a slight bite and a touch of sweetness,” and says drinking it is “an experience for the palate, much like a fine wine.”
Ready to snag the last bottle in the world? It’ll cost you €9,999, or about $11,810, before shipping.
Believe it or not, more expensive water has existed. In 2010, a glass bottle complete with 24-carat gold sold for roughly $60,000 at auction. According to Guinness World Records, the funds raised at the auction where the glass-and-gold bottle was sold benefited an organization focused on global warming.
Other high-end bottles of water on Fine Liquids come in far under that price point. For €4,999, or about $5,800, you can snag a 3-liter bottle of NEVAS water, specifically its Jeroboam Club Edition, which is sourced from two different natural springs. For about $1,100, you can purchase a bottle of Bling H2O, which is “made from pure spring water and enriched with natural minerals” with “a touch of Hollywood glamour” — crystals are used to create the “bling” logo on the front.
Like an expensive bottle of wine, you don’t necessarily need to seek out these high-priced bottles of water daily. Martin Riese, one of the world’s only certified water sommeliers, said in a 2017 interview that, on a daily basis, your cheap water is fine.
“It doesn’t need to be expensive at all,” he explained. In the same video, Riese noted that certain waters can pair well with certain foods: a water with a higher level of sodium goes great with dishes like steak and barbecue, or a salty prosciutto, for example.
Your $6 water at the ballpark, meanwhile, we’ll likely pair just fine with a hot dog or some peanuts.
