The crown of Miss Universe has changed 9 times over the course of its 65-year history. The first crown, the Romanov Imperial nuptial crown, was previously owned by the now-defunct Russian Monarchy. It was used when Armi Kuusela of Finland became the first Miss Universe in 1952. It is believed to be made of approximately 1,535 diamonds and was insured for $500,000. Ironically, a nuptial crown was used to honor a "Miss."
When Christiane Martel of France became Miss Universe 1953, the nuptial crown was replaced by a metallic bronze crown. She was the only Miss Universe titleholder to wear this crown. From 1954 to 1960, "The Star of the Universe" was used. It was named as such due to the star shape at the top of the crown. It is made up of approximately 1,000 Oriental cultured and black pearls set in solid gold and platinum and only weighed 1.25 pounds. It was insured for $500,000.
The Rhinestone Crown (purely made from rhinestones) was debuted in 1961, as part of the 10th anniversary of the pageant. Only Marlene Schmidt (Miss Universe 1961) and her successor Norma Nolan (Miss Universe 1962) wore this crown. In 1963, renowned jewelry maker Sarah Coventry was the one responsible for making the new rhinestone Miss Universe crown which featured a female figure (holding a scepter) as its centerpiece. It is also known as The Lady or The Queen crown. The cheap rhinestone design made it possible to create exact replicas of the crown to be given to outgoing titleholders. The design was slightly modified in 1973 for the wearer's ease. This crown was used until 2001, when it was replaced due to a sponsorship deal, thus ending the tradition.
The Miss Universe crown used from 2002–2007 was designed by Mikimoto, the official jewelry sponsor of the Miss Universe Organization, and depicted the phoenix rising, signifying status, power and beauty, as stipulated in their sponsorship deal. The crown has 500 diamonds of almost 30 carats (6.0 g), 120 South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3 to 18 mm diameter and is valued at $250,000. The Crown was designed for the pageant on Mikimoto Pearl Island in Japan with the Mikimoto crown and tiara being first used for Miss Universe 2002.
In 2008, (Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela) was crowned with a tiara designed by Rosalina Lydster of Jewelry by Rosalina and Ms. Dang Thi Kim Lien of CAO Fine Jewelry. The crown, valued at $120,000, is made of 18-carat white and yellow gold. It is composed of over 1,000 precious stones; including 555 white diamonds (30 carats), 375 cognac diamonds (14 carats), 10 smoky quartz crystals (20 carats) and 19 morganite gemstones (60 carats). The yellow luster of the gold represents the prosperous thriving economy in Vietnam. White, light pink, and cognac are the main hues in the crown which represent inspiration and feeling. Each piece of the crown was designed to represent an important attribute of the Miss Universe Pageant. The curves of inlaid precious stones represent the strong development and potential of each country. The image of the crane (Lac Bird) symbolizes Vietnamese spirit and culture. The image of the heart represents unified breath, rhythm, and vision, which are powerful internal forces that stress faith, hope, and unity. However, Mendoza did not wore this crown and instead wore the Mikimoto designed crown when she crowned her successor/compatriot Stefania Fernandez.
From 2009–2013, Diamond Nexus Labs made the Miss Universe crown. The crown is set with 1,371 gemstones, weighing a total of 416.09 carats (83.218 g). It contains 544.31 grams of 14k and 18k white gold as well as platinum.[citation needed] The crown features synthetic rubies to represent Miss Universe's HIV/AIDS education and awareness platform. Diamond Nexus Labs is the first ever eco-friendly Official Jeweler of Miss Universe and was selected as part of NBC Universal's "Green is Universal" initiative.
Since 2014, Paulina Vega, Pia Wurtzbach, and Iris Mittenaere were decorated with a crown estimated to be worth US$300,000, produced in the workshop of Czech company DIC - Diamonds International Corporation. The whole production process, from the first sketches to the production itself, took approximately four months. The shape of the crown is reminiscent of Manhattan skyline. Its production required the work of 10 people and the crown is made up of 311 pcs of diamonds, 5 pieces of blue topaz, 198 pieces of blue sapphire, 33 pieces of crystal and 220 grams of gold. Total weight of the crown is 411 g.