If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, this is one bra that women won’t want to burn.

Boston’s Hearts on Fire Co. has created a $6.5 million fantasy bra for Victoria’s Secret that’s encrusted with more than 2,000 hand-sewn diamonds weighing 800 carats. The centerpiece is a dangling 10-carat diamond broach with a Victorian floral motif.

The fantasy bra is the 11th created for Victoria’s Secret since 1996 by the likes of jewelers-to-the-stars Harry Winston and Mouawad. Karolina Kurkova models the one-of-a-kind, size 34B Hearts on Fire creation in Victoria Secret’s Christmas Dreams and Fantasies catalogue out this month, and she’ll strut in it on the catwalk at a fashion show airing Dec. 5 on CBS.

“Every company elevates their brand at holiday time,” Victoria’s Secret spokeswoman Monica Mitro said. “We’re known for bras, and so we wanted to do the ultimate over-the-top fantasy bra.”

Hearts on Fire saw the invitation as an opportunity to partner with a national brand to generate buzz.

“We sell diamonds and create jewelry, so it’s a fun project for us and out of the ordinary,” spokeswoman Rachel Clementi said.

The company so far has fielded interest from a potential buyer in Malaysia. Previous fantasy bras went unsold, although Harry Winston sold a very large diamond at the center of the one modeled by Tyra Banks in 1997.

This year’s fantasy bra is the most expensive item ever created by Hearts on Fire, topping a $5 million diamond dress designed for the Oscars in 2002. It took more than 20,000 hours to cut and polish the bra’s diamonds, and 300-plus hours for design and fabrication. The finished product weighs in at more than 5 lbs.

“Karolina claims it’s very comfortable,” Clementi said.
- Source: Donna Goodison, Bra-vo! The 6.5M, diamond-studded bra you’ve been waiting for, Boston Herald, Oct. 18, 2006