Designer makes 'Cinderella' diamond shoe worth more than $400,000

A designer in New Zealand has made a shoe set with 21.18 carats of diamonds that is claimed to be the most expensive in the world with an estimated value of $420,000.

Designer Kathryn Wilson created 'The Diamond Shoe’ with the help of Sarah Hutchings from Auckland’s Orsini Fine Jewellery company.

The creation involved more than 50 hours of painstaking work using tweezers and a special adhesive to set the diamonds on the shoe, one by one.

The women said their aim was to make a shoe that symbolized the ultimate in designer luxury and the Cinderella fantasy.

Hutchings said, "'It was incredibly time consuming and a lot of thought went into it before I even began. The shoe was originally black so to give it more impact I painted it white, then used a pencil to mark out the patterns and designs.

"I also had to work out how many carats of diamonds were required and how much space I needed to place the lace and embellishments. Then the late nights painstakingly placing the diamonds onto the shoe using tweezers at home, one night I was still going at 2am.

A security operation was called for due to the high value of the shoe, with two guards watching the door while Hutchings worked. She also had a custom-made smash proof box created from Perspex.

The shoes were made for a children's hospital network charity auction.