Winners Circle: Apart From The Miss Universe Crown, Mouawad Also Has Five Other Record-Breaking Pieces - Lookbook

One of the Guinness Records that the Swiss-Emirati luxury house holds was last seen on Heidi Klum at the 2003 Victoria Secret Fashion Show.

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Miss Mexico Andrea Meza is the second woman, after Zozibini Tunzi, to win and wear the Mouawad Miss Universe Power of Unity Crown. Estimated at around $5 million, the diamond-studded piece is said to be the most expensive beauty pageant crown ever.

Sparkling warmth

“The central magnificent shield-cut 62.83 carat golden canary diamond denotes power, while two golden canary diamonds either side create a sense of harmony,” the Swiss-Emirati luxury house writes about the crown in an Instagram post. “The sun-like warmth of these three diamonds represents the new golden age of women.”

Two years ago, before the world was overcome by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mouawad entered into a partnership with the Miss Universe Organization, which also crowns Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. Last year, the company also partnered with Miss Universe Thailand for their crown.

Each of these competitions follow the same theme as with the Power of Unity, with each highlighting a different value: Miss Teen USA winner Ki’ilani Arruda wears the Power of Hope crown while Miss USA Asya Branch has the Power of Positivity crown. Miss Universe Thailand winner Amanda Obdam, meanwhile, dons the Power of Authenticity crown.

“These creative partnerships draw on Mouawad’s strong heritage of designing jewelry for royalty and its reputation for ‘crafting the extraordinary’ to craft exceptional, one-of-a-kind pieces befitting modern-day royalty,” the company writes in its website.

Beirut beauty

In 1890, the luxury brand started with goldsmith, jeweler, and watchmaker David Mouawad left his home in Lebanon to spend two decades in New York and Mexico to further his craft. He went back to Beirut in 1908 and opened his first workshop, which offered watch and jewelry repair and allowed him to work on his passion of creating clocks as well as valuable accessories.

In the 1950s, David’s son Fayez moved to Saudi Arabia and from there expanded the business. By the early 1970s, Fayez’s son Robert moved the Mouawad headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland, where it was able to cater to the all-important European market and beyond. Today, Robert’s sons Fred, Pascal, and Alain are co-guardians of the brand.

Today, Mouawad Jewelry has been quite popular with celebrities, with the likes of Celine Dion, Gigi Hadid, Kate Winslet, Kendall Jenner, Ashley Olsen, Nicole Kidman, Tina Fey, Adriana Lima, and the Dutchess of Cambridge sporting their pieces.

Breaking records

Apart from the Miss Universe crown, Mouawad has also created five pieces that broke world records.

The Flower of Eternity ($3.5 million), with 8-karat gold and sterling silver, and 542.39 carat of white and yellow diamonds, is the world’s most expensive valuable jewelry box. The L’Incomparable ($55 million), meanwhile, boasts a 407.48-carat yellow diamond, a 229.52-carat white diamonds as well as 18-karat rose gold branchlets, and is the world’s most valuable necklace.

Mouawad’s 1,001 Nights ($3.8 million) incorporates 105 yellow, 56 pink, and 4,356 colorless diamonds to become the world’s most expensive handbag. Very Sexy Fantasy ($11 million), which featured 2,809 white diamonds, yellow-orange sapphires, rhodolites, and amethysts, and was worn by Heidi Klum in the 2003 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, is the world’s most expensive bra.

Finally, the Mouawad Splendor ($12.76 million), which weighs 101.84 carat D-Internally Flawless, is the world most expensive single pear-shaped diamond.

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