World's Most Expensive Barbie Unveiled: Over Half Million Dollar Canturi Barbie

The Worlds Most Expensive Barbie

To coincide with the launch of the Barbie® Basics™ Collection in Australia, Mattel has engaged internationally celebrated jewelry designer Stefano Canturi to create a world first, the rarest and most expensive Barbie ever made. Price? $545,000. USD



Valued at over $AUD600,000 and featuring a rare Australian pink diamonds, Stefano has created the ultimate accessories for Barbie in his signature Cubism style.

Barbie is decorated with a stunning Canturi neckpiece made up of 3.00 carats of white diamonds surrounding a collectible 1.00ct square emerald (cut) pink diamond:



A diamond Cubism ring sparkling on her right hand completes the jewelry set:


The pink diamond was especially hand-picked for & inspired by Barbie and is a registered tendered stone from the Australian Argyle mine. The 1.00ct square emerald (cut) diamond, notable for its distinctive purplish pink hue, is a rare and unique collector’s item, and it is substantially more valuable than its white diamond equivalent. A style icon such as Barbie commands a rare, unique pink diamond such as this one.


above: Stefano Canturi with his special Barbie

Having personally created history making jewels for Academy Award winning films and many of the worlds most influential women, its only natural that Canturi should apply his meticulous attention to detail to creating a piece that marries Barbie’s confidence and feminine style, and his timeless Cubism jewelry.




Stefano states… "Barbie is iconic and so I didn't just want to cover her with diamonds, I wanted the jewelry design to pay homage to her modern yet timeless style, this is why I applied my Cubism design concept to her look; it is perfect for her.”



above: Jewellery designer Stefano Canturi and Mattel Principle designer Robert Best pose with the world's most expensive Barbie doll at the Barbie Basics Collection Launch during Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Spring in Sydney, Australia. ( Photo by Robert Gray/Getty Images AsiaPac)

“With the launch of the Barbie Basics collection here in Australia we wanted to give the launch a unique Australian perspective, so we engaged Stefano Canturi to design the ultimate accessories for Barbie, an Australian pink diamond jewelry suite. Stefano’s signature style fits perfectly with the Barbie brand… modern, yet timeless…" Kate Carroll, Brand Manager — Barbie, Mattel Australia.

all images courtesy of Stefano Canturi and Mattel®

Be sure to check out this post that shows each of the barbie Basics glammed up by famous fashion designers

MAD MEN Barbie Doll Diorama From Haute Doll

Much to the glee of advertising folk and doll collectors, todays' New York Times announced the fact that Mattel is soon coming out with MAD MEN Barbie dolls.

The dolls, fashioned after the cast of AMC's MAD MEN, are expected to retail for $75.00 each and a limited number of less than 10,000 dolls of each are to be produced.



above photo courtesy of New York Times



In honor of the release of the upcoming dolls, Haute Doll has created their own versions in an upcoming diorama for the magazine.

I happen to be acquainted with the fabulous photographer, Michael Williams, about who's Barbie Jonathan Adler diorama's I blogged about before.
So, I have a sneak peek at the first images of their own MAD MEN Dolls for you.





This month, for the March/April issue of HauteDoll, Michael collaborated with some One-Of-A-Kind doll artists to create our own custom MAD MEN dolls, wearing fashions directly from the TV show, along with an amazingly detailed miniature diorama of Don Draper's office (COMPLETE with cocktails and cigarettes).


above: I love the mini story boards and the Lucky Strike Cigarettes!



Diorama by Carloyn Allen
Fashions by Natalia Sheppard
Barbie repaints by Vin Trapani
Photos by Michael Williams

12 Barbie Basics Get Glammed Up By Designers For Launch & Auction.

above: Barbie Basic model no.5 before and after being styled by Justin Guinta for the launch

Mattel recently introduced the Barbie Basics doll collection; 12 different Barbie® dolls, each dressed 'down' in a different, but all black, dress. Simply named model no.1, model no.2 and so on, the hair, skin, eye color, features and stances vary with each doll. You can then purchase "look" sets that include accessories for the dolls.




To launch this new collection, Mattel had 12 top CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) fashion and accessory designers dress the dolls in their own inimitable style, as in model no. 8 shown below left and then as styled by Alexis Bittar, below right.



The styled, dressed and accessorized dolls will then be auctioned on ebay with proceeds benefiting the CFDA. The auction goes live on January 28 (tomorrow) at 10pm EST and runs through February 7. To bid, visit the ebay auction here.



Below are close-ups of the 12 new Barbie Basics dolls (as sold) followed by the designer dressed versions for the launch:

model no.1 and model no.2:

model no.3 and model no.4:

model no.5 and model no.6:

model no 7 and model no.8:

model no.9 and model no.10:

model no.11 and model no.12:

above images of Barbie basics courtesy of Barbie Collector

Thanks to Glam and the blog GlamChic , I can show you images of all of the 12 Mattel Barbie Basics Dolls dressed by the designers for the ebay auction.

Isaac Mizrahi dolls up model no. 1 and Monica Botkier dolls up model no.2:


Deborah Lloyd of Kate Spade dolls up model no.3 and Philip Crangi dolls up model no.4:


Justin Guinta dolls up model no.5 and Albertus Swanepoel dolls up model no.6:


Lorraine Schwartz dolls up model no.7 and Alexis Bittar dolls up model no.8:


Betsey Johnson dolls up model no.9 and Rachel Roy dolls up model no.10:


Devi Kroell dolls up model no.11 and Tory Burch dolls up model no.12:

Shop the Barbie Basics Doll collection here.
Sign up for the ebay auction here.

Related Posts:

•Barbie Gone Bad. Works From The 7th Annual Altered Barbie Exhibit

•Barbie Rocks The Runway At New York's Fashion Week

•The Karl Lagerfeld Barbie & Ken Photos For The Colette Celebration & More

•Michael Loves Jonathan Adler And They Both Love Barbie.

•A Mattel Goldie Hawn Laugh-In Barbie? You Bet Your Sweet Bippy!

•What Do Heidi Klum, Louboutin, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett & Cyndi Lauper Have In Common?

•Sorry Barbie, But Compared To Mooqla Dolls, You're Just PWT*

•Noel Cruz: Improving Dolls. One Face At A Time.

What Do Heidi Klum, Louboutin, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett & Cyndi Lauper Have In Common?

They're all new Mattel Barbie dolls. That's what.


It was a big year for Barbie, with the 50th anniversary celebrations, Jonathan Adler and Pop Life Mod Barbie dolls and the big NY Fashion Week Barbie fashion show.

Mattel hasn't slowed down. Get ready for more collectible Barbie dolls that play on popular culture, past and present.

They just released their Heidi Klum Barbie Doll.



The doll, designed by Robert Best, even includes a simulation of her actual 10 carat fancy yellow diamond ring given to her by husband Seal and bejeweled golden sandals.:



Buy the Heidi Klum Barbie here.

And their soon-to0be-released Christian Louboutin Barbie Doll.

Barbie® by Christian Louboutin (the world renowned shoe designer) dolls have been produced in a limited edition of 7,700 produced worldwide.

pre-order the Christian Louboutin Barbie here.

Also available for pre-order are their Women of the 80's dolls (Debbie Harry as Blondie, Joan Jett and Cyndi Lauper).

Debbie Harry as Blondie Doll coming in December:

pre-order the Blondie Doll here.

Joan Jett Barbie Doll coming in December:

pre-order the Joan Jett Doll here.

Cyndi Lauper Barbie doll coming in January 2010:

pre-order the Cyndi Lauper doll here

If you've got young or tween girls in the house, any of these would make an awesome Holiday gift. But snap them up, these puppies go fast!