The World's Most Expensive Dress

   
     British designer Debbie Wingham debuted the world's most expensive dress this week.  The dress, valued at nearly $17.7 million is a simple, loose black gown called an Abaya, a traditional North African and Arabic dress.  Wingham was inspired to create the design after visiting Dubai last fall.

     What makes the dress so expensive?  The Abaya has at its center a red diamond valued at about $7.4 million. Only one in every 100 million diamonds is a natural red color.  They are found, on average, every 50 years but are generally very small.
     A total of 3,000 stones adorned the dress, including 50 two-carat black diamonds, 50 two-carat white diamonds, 1,899 black and white pointer diamonds and 1,000 pointer rubies.  Each of the stones is set in 14 karat gold.  All of the stones are flawless and of the highest quality.  The thread used to stitch the gown is 14 karat gold.

     The dress will never be sold, however.  It is only a showpiece.  Wingham says the red diamond is borrowed and so rare that she could never get another one.  Wingham is a self-taught seamstress who made her mark on the fashion world last year when she unveiled her $5.09 million black dress adorned with 50 two-carat black diamonds.