Recently, I participated in a continuing education class at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Carlsbad, California campus. In addition to the classwork, I found a number of lobby displays to be enormously interesting. One such display presented replicas of two of Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bras.
For those of you not familiar, Victoria’s Secret has, each year since 1996, selected an ‘Angel’ model to wear a gemstone encrusted, hugely expensive, ‘Fantasy Bra’. Models wearing the bra include Claudia Schiffer, who wore the first Fantasy Bra, Tyra Banks, Daniela Pestova, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen, Karolina Kurkova, Selita Ebanks, Adriana Lima, Marisa Miller, Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge and Jasmine Tooks. Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima wore the ‘Fantasy Bra’ three times, while Gisele Bundchen, Tyra Banks, Karolina Kurkova and Alessandra Ambrosio wore them twice. The first Fantasy Bra had a price tag of a mere 1 million dollars, with those in succeeding years reaching a top price of $15 million.
The replicas on display at GIA were the ‘Star of Victoria Fantasy Bra’ worn by Karolina Kurkova in 2002 and the ‘Very Sexy Fantasy Bra’ worn by Heidi Klum in 2003. They reportedly had original price tags of $10 million and $11 million, respectively. Here's a photo of the display.
Some of the information from the display posters includes:
“Star of Victoria Fantasy Bra”
“(Replica) Floral motif bra with synthetic rubies, emeralds and cubic zirconia set in sterling silver.”
“One of two Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bras, the original star of Victoria featured more than 2000 rubies and emeralds. Designed by Mouawad, it was shown in the Victoria’s Secret holiday fashion show in 2002. At its center was the flawless 60 ct ‘Star of Victoria’ pear shaped diamond.”
“Very Sexy Fantasy Bra”
“(Replica) Triangular bikini style bra with synthetic sapphires, garnets, amethysts and cubic zirconia, fabricated in sterling silver.”
“The Very Sexy Fantasy bra was one of two “Fantasy Bras” designed by Mouawad for Victoria’s Secret. It was featured in the retailer’s 2003 holiday fashion show. The original bra’s centerpiece was a 70 ct pear-shaped “Mouawad Excelsior” diamond, and the entire design, with 6000 gems – including orange and yellow sapphires, rhodolite garnets, diamonds and amethyst – was valued at $11 million.
"The construction of this replica, donated to GIA by Mouawad, represents more than 375 hours of hand labor.”
So, if you’re looking for something ‘fit for a super model’ to reward yourself for a job well done or want to buy a one-of-a-kind gift for that unique someone in your life and you want to keep the price tag well under $1 million, check on-line at 100 East Fine Jewelry. We have jewelry with yellow and orange sapphires, rhodolite garnets, rubies and diamonds. Or, if you happen to be a super model, such as Heidi, Tyra, Lily, Gisele, Adriana or Karolina and you’re looking for a piece of jewelry to borrow for a special occasion, have your people contact me.