Las Vegas Weekly

April 17, 2009 · 1:33 PM

Photo Gallery: Miss USA 2009 crown is organic, green and $202,000

By Robin Leach

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

There was a short break in the intense final rehearsals of the Miss USA 2009 Pageant yesterday for the unveiling and first look at the new Miss USA crown.

Our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue was onsite for the unveiling by Miss USA/Miss Universe President Paula Shugart, Planet Hollywood Resorts Management President Bill Feather, Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart and Diamond Nexus CEO Gary LaCourt.

Diamond Nexus Labs designed the Miss USA crown, valued at $202,000. It features 1,936 flawless gemstones for a total of 166.82 carats set in 325 grams of gold and platinum. Fifty-one of these jewels adorn the oval centerpiece to celebrate each of the 51 women competing to become Miss USA 2009.

Four full-time designers and their team spent more than 1,800 hours to bring the crown to life. It is organic in that all of the gems were lab made, with a design focus on the beauty of green life and nature and human beings in harmony with each other.

Crystle will crown the winner shortly after 5:50 p.m. local time here Sunday at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood before a live audience of 100 million worldwide viewers. Vegas DeLuxe will blog live from inside the theater, and we will have the first photos and interview with the new Miss USA soon after.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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