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

Fancy Footwear. Kickbars Are Diamond Jewelry For Your Sneakers.

Baller bling, baby.
It's not enough to have diamond earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, body jewelry, belt buckles and even grills. Now, your athletic shoes must be adorned with ice as well.





KickBars' designer, Robert B. Martin Jr., used to put his mom's rings on his fat shoelaces in the 1980s. He took that same concept and turned it into real diamond and colored gemstone encrusted 14k bars that lace onto your kicks.





Three versions are available. The rectangular Kickbars come in two sizes; regular and junior. The full sized Kickbars average 2 carats total diamond weight and are set with approximately 54 full round cut stones. The Jr. Kickbars average 1.5 carats total weight and have approximately 37 full round cut stones.


above: brilliant cut Kickbar and princess cut diamond Custom Kickbar in 14k white gold

The Custom Kickbars are invisibly set princess cut (square cut) diamonds and have a total carat weight of a whopping 6 carats with approximately 30 stones in each.


Colored gemstones:
black diamonds and emeralds:

mixed gems:

rubies and pink sapphires:


Since launching the company in 2006, they also offer the rectangular diamond and gemstone studded pieces as bracelets and necklaces.

Necklaces:


Bracelets:





For those who don't want to cough up the minimum price of approx $6,500 a pair, they have also launched Sneakerbars.com, rhinestone versions of the same.

more pics for you:






You can order Kickbars here.

Royal Asscher's Stars Of Africa, 18k And Diamond Snowglobe Rings

I promise this is the last snow dome-related post until next holiday season, but I simply couldn't ignore these. These unbelievable lust-worthy 18k gold and real floating diamond rings work like little snowdomes! By Royal Asscher, the collection is for their fundraising initiative Stars Of Africa.



The Stars of Africa by Royal Asscher™ jewelry collection was launched in November. The project’s name represents the largest diamond ever found, at 3,105 carats, which the Asscher family cut in 1908.

This collection of 18 rings is distinguished by floating diamonds, which are encased in a fluid-filled sapphire dome that allows them to fall freely.



The result of floating diamonds is that the stones emit light, fire and beauty as they move, similar to twinkling stars, according to the designers. The ring collection is available in white, yellow and rose gold in two sizes, with retail prices ranging from $4,950 to $7,900.



Lita Asscher, shown above, first introduced the Star of Africa program in New York during November of 2008. A year later, she explained that in partnering with charities and businesses, she could show the industry how it can have a positive impact on Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, which she visited in 2008. Asscher came away with a strong belief in "diamonds for development" and that became the main goal of the Star of Africa initiative. A portion of each ring purchase goes back to Africa.




To enquire about purchasing contact starsofafrica@royalasscher.com

Love Diamonds?

Check out this post on the biggest diamonds ever found.