Barbie in all her transformations has now ventured into the world of luxury as she prepares herself for a special charity auction at Christie’s.
Wearing a black strapless party dress, pink peep-toe stilettos, and a stunning necklace featuring a one-carat fancy vivid pink diamond, the world's most expensive Barbie (with a pre-sale estimate to sell from $300,000 to $500,000) is designed head-to-toe by fine jewelry designer Stefano Canturi. This one-of-a-kind Barbie is being offered by Christie's New York as a special item within its "Jewels: The New York Sale" on October 20. The item will be auctioned without reserve and all profits from the sale will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.“Barbie by Stefano Canturi” is adorned with a Canturi collar necklace, exemplifying Stefano Canturi's 'Cubism' style of arranging carré- and baguette-cut diamonds in his signature geometric pattern. Three carats of white diamonds comprise the necklace, which is centered with a 1-ct. emerald cut fancy vivid purplish-pink diamond from the Australian Argyle mine. Collector demand for colored diamonds of this saturation and hue are on the rise, yielding auction prices in excess of $300,000 per carat, Christie’s said in a statement.
The Australian designer spent four weeks designing the doll's frame, hair style, makeup, dress, shoes, nail polish, and her jewels. The doll was unveiled to the public for the first time on September 10 at New York's Fashion's Night Out. Additional previews of the doll will be held at Canturi Jewels salons in Las Vegas and New York before being placed on public view at Christie's Rockefeller Center galleries in New York as part of its pre-sale exhibition, from October 16 - 19. The Christie’s auction and preview are free and open to the public.