The Phoenix Mikimoto Crown, (

Kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

: 御木本不死鳥王冠) also informally known as the Mikimoto Crown, is a pageant crown that was worn by

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

titleholders. The crown was made by the Mikimoto Pearl company in

Toba, Mie is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 17,741 in 8328 households and a population density of 170 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Toba is located on the northeastern tip o ...

Prefecture, Japan used by the

Miss Universe Organization Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

. Its usage was preceded by a modernised variant design of the traditional ''Lady Crown'' used since the 1960s.

History

The crown was designed by Japanese artisan ''Tomohiro Yamaji'' in 2000 and was created with the sponsorship of the Mikimoto Pearl company in 2002 for the commemorative 50th anniversary and as the official jewel sponsor of the Miss Universe Organization. It accompanied a similar diadem which was given to the winner after her reign. It was first unveiled and worn by the 50th Miss Universe at the

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

Mikimoto store in New York City by former Miss Universe Organization owner

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and former brand president, Toyohiko Miyamoto. The crown was used for the coronations of 2002–2007. Due to inconsistent payments for copyright use by the Czech-based Diamond International Corporation to the Miss Universe Organization, along with the desire to re-establish lost branding prestige, the crown returned in January 2017 (press photography), November 2017 (coronation night) and December 2018 (coronation night). The Mikimoto crown was last used at the 68th Miss Universe pageant, the last time being worn by the 67th Miss Universe for its coronation night.

Description

The Mikimoto crown is made of both yellow and white gold, measuring from three to eighteen millimetres. It has a traditional Asian design based on the seven auspicious feathers of a

Fenghuang ''Fenghuang'' () are mythological birds featuring in traditions throughout the Sinosphere. ''Fenghuang'' are understood to reign over all other birds: males and females were originally termed ''feng'' and ''huang'' respectively, but a gender ...

phoenix using a ''mandorla'' flame design derived from traditional Japanese Buddhist iconography. The crown is decorated with

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s totalling to 18 carats, with 120 naturally white

pearls A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

obtained in Japan, both South Sea and Akoya, giving a grand total weight of 29.7 carats. Due to its delicate nature, a security detail was attached to the crown wherever it traveled and insured for $250,000 USD against the risk of loss or damage.

List of Miss Universes who have worn the crown

The following winners are certified by press release or official publication to have worn the Phoenix Mikimoto Crown as designated by the Miss Universe Organization:

Notes

References

{{reflist Crowns (headgear) Miss Universe

History

Description

List of Miss Universes who have worn the crown

See also

Notes

References