Every year, it’s an event that gets hearts racing—the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which took place Nov. 7 in New York City. Generally speaking, it’s the scantily clad bevy of beauties gliding down the runway (aka the Angels) who get the guys going. For the ladies, the main event is a bejeweled bra that can cost as much as a mansion.

This year marks the second time that Long Island, N.Y.–based London Jewelers has designed the show’s annual pièce de résistance—the fantasy bra—and has been named the event’s official jeweler. London joins a long line of jewelry brands (including Damiani, Harry Winston, and Hearts on Fire) who’ve partnered with Victoria’s Secret since 1996 when the gem-studded bra was first introduced. Victoria’s Secret typically presents jewelers with a choice of several themes and then hands over the entire design process. This year’s intricate, feminine floral design was inspired by an Angels in Bloom theme, a fantasy garden filled with vibrant colored flowers. The Floral Fantasy Bra Gift Set includes a Very Sexy Push-up Bra and matching belt on which London Jewelers festooned some 5,200 precious gems: amethysts, sapphires, tsavorites, rubies, and white, pink, and yellow diamonds set in 18k rose and yellow gold. Worn by model Alessandra Ambrosio in the show, the piece also comes with two detachable flower pins and a drop centerpiece with a 20 ct. white diamond. The value of the bra and belt combined: $2.5 million. The Bombshell Fantasy Fragrance comes in a bottle encrusted with amethysts, sapphires, rubies, tsavorites, white, pink, and yellow diamonds, a 10 ct. white diamond, and a hand-carved tourmaline butterfly. The eau de parfum and its decadent packaging is tagged at $500,000.

Floral Fantasy Bra Gift Set (worn by Alessandra Ambrosio) includes amethysts, sapphires, tsavorites, rubies, and white, pink, and yellow diamonds in 18k rose and yellow gold; $2.5 million.

The Angels in Bloom theme lent itself best to jewelry, according to London Jewelers vice president Randi Udell-Alper. It also follows a colorful direction that’s becoming more prevalent in the industry. “We did an ombré effect in the pinks, yellows, and colored stones,” she says. “It was classic and funky at the same time.”

London Jewelers’ master craftsmen sifted through some 15,000 stones to find the perfectly-colored, -sized and -shaped gems; it took them 400 hours to select and—one by one—hand-set the stones in the bra set and fragrance bottle.

The Bombshell Fantasy Fragrance bottle with amethysts, sapphires, rubies, tsavorites, white, pink, and yellow diamonds, a 10 ct. white diamond, and a hand-carved tourmaline butterfly; $500,000

“It was a lot of time, effort, and labor from a jeweler’s standpoint,” said Udell-Alper. “We welded everything onto the bra.” Asked why London Jewelers took on the arduous task, Udell-Alper said, “We love doing anything different from other jewelers. We always look to find cutting-edge. Yet we’re still in our roots and foundation as family-owned.”

The bra set and fragrance were created exclusively for Victoria’s Secret’s new three-story flagship at Herald Square in New York City. It can also be acquired through the lingerie retailer’s Christmas catalog. As of press time, the piece had not yet been sold. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is slated to air on Tuesday, Dec. 4, on CBS.

Emili Vesilind

JCK Senior Editor