Making Pia’s Miss Universe crown

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach waves after being crowned Miss Universe at The Axis at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

The huge crown that now graces Pia Wurtzbach's head is a $300,000 creation made by Czech company Diamonds International Corporation (DIC).

DIC was founded in 2005 by Lubos Riha. Company lore has it that he started out with only $1,000 in his pocket, and in ten years was able to grow the company to one with annual net sales of $50 million.

In 2014 DIC won a 10-year-contract to provide crowns for the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. The Miss Universe crown with the now-distinctive design based on Manhattan's skyline first graced the head of 2014 winner Paulina Vega of Colombia.

According to the company, the new crown took ten people about four months of hard work using traditional techniques by hand perfected by royal jewelers over the centuries.

Pia with the crown poses with Good Morning America's Lara Spencer earlier this month. Photo: Miss Universe official Instagram account (missuniverse)

According to DIC and the Miss Universe website, the crown weighs 411 grams and is worth about $300,000.

The base is a 2-centimeter 18-karat white gold strip, and the crown is encrusted with 311 polished diamonds (10.37 karats in total); five large, light blue topazes, weighing 18.6 karats each; 198 dark blue sapphire stones (29.7 karats in total); and 33 natural, translucent and colorless Bohemian crystals. It also comes in a case made from high-quality Italian leather.

In an Instagram post, Mercator Artist & Model Management president and manager Jonas Gaffud posted a closeup of the crown on Pia's head.

 

The crown. #missuniverse2015 @piawurtzbach

A photo posted by Jonas Antonio Gaffud (@jonasofmercator) on

Dec 20, 2015 at 11:14pm PST

DIC recently provided photos of the crown being constructed, a process quite a bit more arduous than what fans did to make their own replica crowns when they turned out for Pia's grand homecoming parade last week.

And as seen in the video below, the crown is adjustable to accommodate the size of the wearer's head—just one of the many reasons why it suits Pia perfectly.

— BM, GMA News