From the very beginning Barbie has been a popular toy and collector’s item. Over the years, Barbie has transformed into a fashion icon and she has sported some very luxurious outfits and accessories. The most expensive Barbies are one-of-a-kind a pieces that were designed by famous jewelers, fashion designers, and artists. The top most expensive Barbies on this list are wearing real gemstones and have the price tags to match. The other Barbies on this list are rare vintage Barbies in mint condition. All of the Barbies on this list are worth thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars!
- City Smart Silkstone Barbie
- Lorraine Schwartz Barbie
- Karl Lagerfeld Barbie
- Gala Abend Barbie
- Pink Diamond Barbie
- Barbie in Midnight Red
- Original 1959 Barbie
- De Beers 40th Anniversary Barbie
- Barbie and The Diamond Castle
- Barbie by Stefano Canturi
Year Released: 2003
Number in Existence: 600
photo source: Mattel Barbie
There isn’t much information out there about the City Smart Silkstone Barbie because she came out in 2003. Only 600 City Smart Barbies were produced, with 400 sent to the Japanese market, while the other 200 went to members of the Official Barbie Collector’s Club in the U.S. Since Barbie collectors do not part with limited edition dolls too often, City Smart Barbies typically appear with a price of a few thousand dollars.
Did you know?
Silkstone Barbies were introduced in 2000 and they are called silkstone because they are made of a very hard plastic that is intended to mimic porcelain. Many collectors love silkstone Barbies because of their vintage design.
Year Released: 2010
Number in Existence: 1
photo source: Pinterest
In 2010, Mattel partnered with 12 CFDA (The Council of Fashion Designers of America) members to produce 12 unique luxury Barbie dolls to raise money for various charities. The doll that fetched the most money that night was the Lorraine Schwartz Barbie, which was dubbed the “Bling Barbie” by Schwartz and Mattel. Prior to the auction, Mattel had released a Barbie Basics doll that wears a simple little black dress can be easily accessorized and personalized by their owners with special accessories kits featuring such items as scarves, purses, shoes or jewelry.
The CFDA designers were tasked with accessorizing their Barbie Basics doll with luxury items. Besides Lorraine Schwartz, the participating designers included Isaac Mizrahi, Rachel Roy, Justin Giunta, Alexis Bittar, Monica Botkier, Deborah Lloyd of Kate Spade, Albertus Swanepoel, and Devi Kroell.
Did you know?
Although the Lorraine Schwartz Barbie was wearing $25,000 worth of diamonds she only sold for $7,500, much less than the value of her jewels.
Year Released: 2014
Number in Existence: 999
photo source: Mattel Barbie
The late Karl Lagerfeld was a fashion icon and the creative director for Chanel from 1983 until his death in 2019. To pay homage to the legend, Mattel released a limited edition Karl Lagerfeld Barbie in 2014. Less than 1,000 units of the Karl Lagerfeld Barbie were produced and they sold out immediately. Since then, the dolls have popped up on resale sites for thousands of dollars. Currently, one Karl Lagerfeld Barbie is listed for nearly $8,000 on eBay!
The Karl Lagerfeld Barbie is wearing clothes and accessories identical to those that Lagerfeld was known for. The doll wears a tailored black jacket, white high-collared men’s shirt with French cuffs and black satin cravat finished off with fitted black jeans featuring the iconic all-over head print. The Lagerfeld Barbie also has black fingerless gloves, sunglasses, black ankle boots and a black leather purse with silver metallic accents.
Did you know?
The Karl Lagerfeld Barbie was released during 2014 Paris Fashion Week.
Year Released: 1965
Number in Existence: Unknown, believed to be very few
photo source: Christie’s
In the sale where 4,000 Barbies were put for auction in 2006 by Christie’s, the second most expensive doll sold that night was the Gala Abend Barbie. The anonymous collector who bought Barbie in Midnight Red for more than $17,000 also purchased the Gala Abend Barbie for nearly $14,000! Before the sale, the Gala Abend Barbie was expected to only sell for a few hundred dollars, but her sale far exceeded early predictions.
The Gala Abend Barbie dates to 1965 and is rare because she was released exclusively in Japan and Europe.
Did you know?
Gala Abend Barbie’s luxurious dress was inspired by French fashion and designed by Anne Marie Crivelli.
Year Released: 2012
Number in Existence: 1
photo source: Luxuo
In 2012, designer duo Phillipe and David Blond of The Blonds teamed up with Mattel’s Principal Designer Bill Greening to make a one-of-a-kind Barbie they could sell to raise money for charity. The Pink Diamond Barbie made her debut at The Blond’s New York Fashion Week SS ’13 show in September 2012. The Barbie sold for $15,000 and all proceeds were donated to the MAC Aids Fund Organization.
The Pink Diamond Barbie is wearing a fuchsia and rose ‘gem’ encrusted mini corset dress and pumps that were hand-embellished by The Blonds. To top off her look, the Pink Diamond Barbie has a luxe faux fur coat, pink studded earrings, and a pink sparkling ring.
Did you know?
The Pink Diamond Barbie’s design was inspired by a look that The Blonds made for a 2008 runway show.
Year Released: 1965
Number in Existence: Unknown, believed to be very few
photo source: Christie’s
In 2006, auction house Christie’s held a sale for a collection of over 4,000 Barbies. Many of the Barbies were sold for a lot of money, but Barbie in Midnight Red was the belle of the ball. While Barbie in Midnight Red was not initially expected to rake in that much, she sold for over $17,000. At the time, this was the most someone had ever paid for a Barbie at auction. The anonymous seller also purchased Barbie in Midnight Pink for $9,550. Reportedly, both of these colorways are rare as the standard color for this Barbie’s dress was Midnight Blue.
Did you know?
The Barbie collection that Barbie in Midnight Red was a part of originally belonged to a women named Ietje Raebel, who began collecting the dolls in the 1960s.
Year Released: 1959
Number in Existence: Several, but few in good/mint condition
photo source: invaluable.com
Some things to look out for when shopping or selling an original Barbie are a “Made in Japan” stamp on the bottom of one foot; divided fingers instead of the connected fingers that most Barbies have; “Barbie” stamped on one hip; and a high ponytail style.
Did you know?
The very first run of original 1959 Barbies did not have an eye color; Barbie got blue eyes years later.
Year Released: 1999
Number in Existence: 1
photo source: Reader’s Digest
In 1999, Mattel celebrated Barbie’s 40th anniversary by commissioning De Beers, a famous international diamond company, to design a special Barbie. The De Beers 40th Anniversary Barbie came with an $85,000 price tag and was decked out in De Beers’ diamonds. De Beers chose to go with a sultry look for this luxury edition of the 40th anniversary Barbie.
The doll is scantily clad and is wearing a bikini top made of gold and diamonds. She also has black hair instead of Barbie’s traditional blonde. On top of the Barbie’s skirt is a belt made with 160 De Beers diamonds.
Year Released: 2008
Number in Existence: 1
photo source: trendhunter.com
The next Barbie on this list is a little mysterious as any official press releases seem to have been removed from the internet. However, we did find some secondary sources about the special edition Barbie and The Diamond Castle doll. According to these sources, in 2008, Mattel’s Barbie division in Mexico unveiled a Barbie worth 1 Million Pesos, nearly $95,000 at the time.
The Barbie was modeled after the main character of the “Barbie and The Diamond Castle” movie that was released that year. The doll featured a tiara, a pair of slippers, earrings, necklace, bracelet, and ring all made from white gold covered in real diamonds. The Barbie’s dress was also accented with 44 round-cut stones with a combined weight of 20.66 carats.
Did You Know?
The Barbie and The Diamond Castle doll was only made as a publicity stunt and was never put up for sale. The value of the doll comes from the value of the jewels she is wearing.
Year Released: 2010
Number in Existence: 1
photo source: Canturi
In 2010, Australian jewelry designer Stefano Canturi unveiled the world’s most expensive Barbie doll ever, which was sold at auction for $302,500. Canturi was asked by Mattel to specifically design a Barbie that would become the brand’s most expensive doll. It took six months for Canturi to design the luxury Barbie, who is sporting a dazzling diamond collar necklace. The centerpiece of of the necklace is a cut-cornered modified square-cut fancy vivid purplish pink diamond, weighing approximately 1.00 carat.
Canturi’s Barbie is also sporting a diamond ring. Mattel gave Canturi free reign to design the Barbie doll however he wanted. Canturi chose to give the doll elegant makeup, complete with false lashes. The doll is wearing an understated black evening gown to allow the jewels to shine.
Did You Know?
The pink diamond on the necklace of the Barbie by Stefano Canturi is a rare find from Australia’s Argyle mine.
