Miss Universe Catriona Gray 2018 has a confession to make — she broke the Miss Universe Mikimoto crown.
During Gray’s homecoming parade in the Philippines last month, she was warmly welcomed by her proud countrymen but the lively celebration ended up with a slight mishap that involved the crown.
The design of the Mikimoto crown was inspired by the legendary rising phoenix. The crown features seven feathers inspired by the Fenghuang phoenix which are made with yellow and white gold. However, one of those feathers fell off and Gray said that she is the one to blame for it.
“So one of the things that I love most about the parade is that they have this moving band and drums and it makes me want to dance. So I end up dancing, although I am not a very good dancer,” she narrated in a video posted on the YouTube channel of Miss Universe explaining how she broke the crown.
“The Mikimoto has seen better days,” Gray said as she shows the broken piece. “As a result of my dancing. I am so sorry.”
Netizens who were able to watch the video said that the Miss Universe Organization can have the crown fixed but they can’t help but laugh at Gray’s adorable confession.
The crown is also covered with 18 carats of diamonds and 120 white South Sea and Akoya pearls giving a grand total weight of 29.7 carats. Because of the expensive stones on the crown, it is estimated to cost around $250,000 or P12.5 million.
The crown was first used in 2002 until 2007. The Mikimoto crown was used once again in 2017 replacing the Diamonds International Corporation-made diamond and blue crystal crown — the one that was used to crown Miss Universe titleholders from 2014 to 2016, including Pia Wurtzbach.
Prior to Gray’s coronation, only seven former Miss Universe titleholders were crowned with the Mikimoto crown, namely Oxana Fedorova from Russia, Amelia Vega from the Dominican Republic, Jennifer Hawkins from Australia, Natalie Glebova from Canada, Zuleyka Rivera from Puerto Rico, Riyo Mori from Japan, and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters from South Africa.
