Miss Vietnam Crown: From shopping on Hang Dao Street to being covered in billion-dollar diamonds

If in 1988, Bui Bich Phuong was crowned Miss Vietnam and was awarded a crown bought on Hang Dao Street (Hanoi), the value of the crown has increased hundreds of times after 15 times of organization.

At the press conference of the Northern region of the Miss Vietnam 2016 contest in early July, the crown for the new beauty queen was revealed to be worth 2.2 billion VND and became one of the most expensive crowns in the history of the contest (up to now).

According to the Organizing Committee, over the years, the crown has been invested in more and more because it symbolizes the nobility and "weight" of the beauty queen title. And especially, Miss Vietnam - the most prestigious and long-standing contest, so it must be invested properly.

Let's take a look back at the 15 beauty queens with their accompanying crowns:

Bui Bich Phuong is the first person to hold the title of Miss Vietnam and the crown for the girl with a height of 1.57 m has the lowest value ever. It is known that before the final night, the Organizing Committee of the contest divided people to search for crowns all over Hanoi, and finally found one on Hang Dao street. That crown was brought back to Vietnam by a person who went to France as a souvenir and then sold it in Hanoi.

Through the above image, we can see that the crown of Miss 1990 Nguyen Dieu Hoa was still primitive. Mr. Duong Ky Nam, former Head of the Organizing Committee, shared that the crown of the Hanoi University of Foreign Languages ​​student was bought at... Cho Lon (Saigon)

Since 1992, the crowns for the crowned contestants have all come from abroad. The crown that Ha Kieu Anh wore was ordered from Thailand.

Similarly, Miss Vietnam 1994 Nguyen Thu Thuy also owned a crown bought from a neighboring country, similar in design to the crowns of beauty contests at that time.

Miss Vietnam 1996 Nguyen Thien Nga wears a crown bought in Hong Kong. The organizers said that although it was bought from abroad, its value was not as great as it is now, only about 10 million VND or less.

Close-up of the crown of Miss Vietnam 1998 Nguyen Thi Ngoc Khanh. Due to its low value, all beauty queens own the crown without returning it.

Miss Vietnam 2000 Phan Thu Ngan

Miss Vietnam 2002 Nguyen Thi Mai Phuong

Miss Vietnam 2004 Nguyen Thi Huyen

Until 2006, Miss Mai Phuong Thuy's crown was still symbolic, ordered in an Asian country.

It was not until 2008 that the Miss Vietnam crown was specially designed and was worth 300 million VND (a huge amount for a beauty contest at that time). The gold alone attached to it was more than 6 taels. The tradition is expressed in the lotus petals - a flower symbolizing nobility and purity - on the crown's head. The crown was carefully protected in a bank safe, and when it was brought to the final night of the beauty contest, it had to be escorted by a car.

In three consecutive years 2008, 2010 and 2012, Miss Thuy Dung, Ngoc Han and Thu Thao took turns receiving the crown. Mr. Duong Xuan Nam recalled: “The previous times, the crowns were very light. But when I gave the gold and gemstone crown to Thuy Dung, it was unexpectedly heavy so I dropped it.”

Miss Vietnam 2012 Dang Thu Thao received the crown from her predecessor. Because the crown is so valuable, previous beauty queens were given a silver “copy”. It was made so similar that it would be difficult to tell the difference if placed next to each other, except that the original is heavier because it is made of gold.

In 2014, Ky Duyen was radiant in the moment of coronation with a crown worth over 2 billion VND. The crown for Ky Duyen has a rare 15 mm yellow pearl placed at the center of the crown, surrounded by 18 natural yellow pearls (non-cultured pearls) like sparkling dew drops on a lotus bud. Next to that are nearly 1,000 natural diamonds attached to lotus petal motifs creating sparkling light like stars.

In recent years, the crown has often used a triangular shape with a high pointed tip or a multi-layered lotus petal shape, creating a familiar, boring repetition. This year, the Organizing Committee has completely eliminated old and outdated design concepts. The new crown has a wavy shape like waves, creating a sense of sophistication and luxury. The height is measured by the makers to create harmony with the face when worn. This new shape is quite similar to the crowns at the Miss America or Venezuela pageants in recent years. In addition, this crown focuses on the details of the precious pearl accents instead of investing in the size and height like previous years. The combination of 63 pearls with 3,260 sapphires symbolizes 3,260 km of coastline stretching from North to South, as a pride in the homeland's sea.

According to TNO