Mikimoto designs $100,000 Rose Parade crown

Nearly a century of her predecessors wore rhinestones, but the next Rose Queen will don a crown of real diamonds and pearls valued at $100,000, The Associated Press reports.

Jeweler Mikimoto designed the crown that Rose Queen Ashley Moreno will wear in the annual Rose Parade on New Year’s morning in Pasadena, Calif., the AP reports. The jeweler has also designed six matching tiaras for the “princesses.”

Moreno reportedly said the new crown “took a bit of getting used to” because its height demands straight posture and a level head. The tiara weighs about a pound and features overlapping lines and heart-shaped loops studded with pearls and diamonds.

The old sterling and cubic zirconia crown weighed five pounds, forcing some former queens to perform neck-strengthening exercises and take aspirin before the parade, the AP reports.

An early design for the crown featured the parade’s trademark rose logo, but tournament officials nixed it in favor of a more classic design, the AP reports. The contract calls for the crown to be worn in at least five Rose Parades.

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