Kylie Jenner Debuts the $50 Million Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bra

4,410 Diamonds and One Record-Breaking Fantasy Bra

In celebration of its glorious return, Victoria’s Secret called upon the design prowess of New York jeweler extraordinaire Jacob & Co. to create the most valuable Fantasy Bra ever made by a mile. Valued at $50 million, the piece features an astounding 4,410 natural diamonds with a stunning 75.54-carat radiant-cut Fancy Vivid yellow diamond, making for a total of 1,373.39 carats. Requiring over 1,000 hours to assemble it, the Fantasy Bra took a team of 15 master craftspeople to complete. 

Weighing just under four pounds and set with diamonds in a deliberate assortment of cuts and shapes, the Fantasy Bra is specifically crafted to catch the maximum amount of light from every angle, sparkling with every step. The Angel Cut Diamond, included on the piece, was explicitly created to fête Jacob & Co.’s 40th anniversary, blending four decades of the Maison’s accomplishments in high jewelry, rare stones, and incredible design for a landmark piece the world has never seen before. 

“I wanted to create the most expensive Fantasy Bra ever made, but value alone was never enough,” said Jacob Arabo, Founder, Chairman and Creative Director of Jacob & Co. “For me, it had to be about the diamonds, the light, and the movement. We brought together exceptional diamonds in different shapes and sizes, including our proprietary Angel-Cut, and designed the piece so that it catches light with every step. The craft is extraordinary, and what matters most is the emotion it creates when you see it come to life on the runway.” 

The 75.54-Carat Yellow Diamond at the Center of It All

The nucleus of the Fantasy Bra is formed around three stones. Delicately dangling from the center of the piece are two round brilliant-cut white diamonds totaling 11.85 carats, which anchor a magnificent 75.54-caratradiant-cut yellow diamond, graded Fancy Vivid Yellow with VS2 clarity by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Fancy Vivid is GIA’s highest grade for intensity of color. 

The radiant cut of the Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond’s was expertly chosen for the vivacious possibilities it opens for colored stones. The genius of the radiant cut lies in its structure. With 66 to 70 facets, beveled corners, and a face that explodes with light, it lives up to its name, radiating brilliance from every angle, combining the excellence of the round brilliant cut and an emerald cut. 

The radiant cut’s faceting pattern makes it the perfect companion for fancy color diamonds. Its intense light reflections amplify color in a way few other cuts can. A yellow diamond cut into an emerald cut may appear to look pale, but as a radiant, that same rough stone often becomes a vivid, saturated yellow—more desirable and more valuable. This color-enhancing quality has made the radiant cut a favorite among collectors and designers working with pink, yellow, and other rare fancy diamonds.

It’s not so simple to place a stone as massive as a 75.54-carat diamond on a garment such as this. The strategy behind the composition takes its weight, depth, and calculated position on the body carefully into consideration while also determining the geometry of the settings, framework, and distribution of the 4,409 other diamonds surrounding it. 

Meet Jacob Arabo, the Jeweler Behind the Fantasy

Jacob Arabo founded his namesake luxury label Jacob & Co. in 1986 in New York City’s Diamond District. Emigrating to the USA from the former USSR with his mother, father, and four sisters, Arabo began his journey in the world of fine jewelry and timepieces as an apprentice with a watchmaker his first summer in America. 

He eventually earned the moniker “Jacob the Jeweler,” courtesy of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G., amassing a wealth of A-list celebrity clientele like Biggie Smalls, Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, Madonna, Drake, Rihanna, Elton John, Cristiano Ronaldo, and more. 

“When we decided to bring back the Fantasy Bra this year, I couldn’t think of a more perfect person to design it than Jacob,” said Adam Selman, EVP and Chief Creative Officer of Victoria’s Secret & Co. “I have been a huge fan of his work for a very long time, and he has played a big role in shaping pop culture. I love his artistry, his craft, and his fearlessness. Jacob understands that a Fantasy Bra has to be spectacular, but what made him the right partner is that he designs for the person wearing it. That’s what Victoria’s Secret is all about.”

How Do You Make 4,410 Diamonds Move With the Body?

Drawing inspiration from Jacob & Co.’s Rare Touch Jewelry Collection, the Fantasy Bra evokes the shared exploration of how precious metal can be shaped and molded to move with the body like fabric. Diamonds are set throughout an articulated 18-karat gold structure that follows the contours of the body, rather than sitting rigidly against it. 

It all began with an original hand sketch in pencil with meticulous diamond dimensions annotated alongside. Then, the A-grade design team built a full-scale maquette of the structure, cutting, shaping, and revising the proportions to create the most detailed CAD model possible. Mapping each and every diamond into place, extensive calculations were made to determine how many diamonds the bra could withstand, and which cuts, shapes, and sizes were optimal for peak fluidity. 

Once the Fantasy Bra made it to the jeweler’s bench, each component was cast in 18-karat white gold, using techniques used by goldsmiths for thousands of years, such as the lost-wax method. With every piece pre-polished by hand, the bust was formed. Each strand of theatrical, swinging fringe is a chain of individually cast settings, linked together to move as freely with the body as possible. With the structure complete, the 4,410 natural diamonds, including the 75.54-carat Fancy Vivid Yellow, were masterfully set by hand.

The Very Sexy History of the Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bra

Drenched in diamonds and encrusted with precious gemstones, the ultra-glamorous hybrid between lingerie and high jewelry has been a cultural touchstone since its inception in 1996. 

Throughout the years, Victoria’s Secret has called upon some of the world’s most renowned jewelers to create their beloved custom-made Fantasy Bras worn by supermodels from Claudia Schiffer and Tyra Banks to Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, and Jasmine Tookes. While Mouawad has been responsible for eleven Fantasy Bras, Hearts On Fire, Martin Katz, Damiani, London Jewelers, and Eddie Borgo have also contributed to this diamond-studded legacy. 

In 2018, Swedish model Elsa Hosk wore the last-seen Fantasy Bra, created by Swarovski. Driven by overwhelming fan demand, the return of tradition has not come without appropriate pomp and circumstance. As the most valuable Fantasy Bra yet, Jacob & Co.’s masterpiece beat out the second-most valuable piece by about $35 million. Ushering in a new era, unveiled by Kylie Jenner, this new chapter of the Fantasy Bra pushes the limits of what diamonds can achieve, with exceptional craftsmanship and a healthy disregard for subtlety.