Barbie dolls first took the world by storm in 1959, courtesy of Mattel, Inc. and quickly become a household name.

Having been around for decades, Barbie – named after creator Ruth Handler's daughter, Barbara – has made sure to keep up with the times, becoming the doll world's top trend-setter.

Check out the most expensive Barbie dolls in the world:

Barbie No. 1 – $8,000

For those who prefer the nostalgia factor to the bling factor, this expensive Barbie is the very first one ever made. Barbie No. 1 features a ponytail and zebra-striped bathing suit. This vintage Barbie doll is truly a historic artifact.

De Beers 40th Anniversary Barbie – $85,000

Barbie turned 40 with style. Diamond giant De Beers could not let the momentous occasion simply go by, and created a unique dress covered in 160 diamonds and 18k white gold jewelry for Barbie to wear on her special day.

Barbie and the Diamond Castle – $95,361

This doll, introduced in Mexico City, was not created for sale, but rather for promotional purposes ahead of the "Barbie and the Diamond Castle" movie. It features a total of 318 diamonds, weighing in at 20.66 carats. Forty-four of the gems decorate her dress while the rest adorn her white gold accessories.

Canturi Barbie – $540,780

To celebrate the new Barbie Basics Collection, a line of urban socialite dolls each with a different hairstyle and skintone and wearing her own unique Little Black Dress, Mattel contracted renowned jewelry designer Stefan Canturi to create a stunning ensemble.

Canturi Barbie's necklace features 3-carats of white polished diamonds, arranged in a Cubist style and surrounding a rare pink diamond from Australia’s Argyle mine. The centerpiece is a 1-carat emerald. Barbie also wears a ring adorned with another diamond on her right hand.

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With the holiday season approaching it seems that it isn’t only jewelry sales that are picking up in world markets, but also those of large and unique diamonds.

Earlier this week we reported that Petra Diamonds sold a 68 carat white Cullinan diamond for $6.28 million, and now it's Hong Kong's turn to sell a spectacular color diamond ring for $10.8 million.

A pink, chickpea-size diamond ring was sold Tuesday for a record price of HK$83.5 million ($10.8 million). The ring was sold in a public auction of antiques, art and gemstones held in Hong Kong.

The pink diamond ring

The 5-carat diamond was set by London-based jeweler Graff Diamonds, which gave it the second-highest rating for being potentially flawless.

The diamond broke the previous price fetched per carat, which was set in May when real estate tycoon Joseph Lau purchased a 7.03-carat diamond in Geneva for 10.5 million Swiss francs ($10.5 million). A carat is one-fifth a gram. 

The Graff diamond was purchased by a phone buyer whose offer topped Chinese millionaire stock-investor Liu Yiqian and his wife Wang Wei, who stopped at HK$70 million.  Christie's auction house, which hosted the auction, would not confirm whether the diamond was bought by a Chinese client.

The jewelry auction fetched HK$372 million, as 89% of the 255 lots sold.

"Some of the prices were crazy, way above what one would pay in a jewelery store," said Donald May, a Hong Kong-based gemstone dealer who attended the auction. "There's a lot of mainland Chinese buying; either they didn't know what the items are worth or they wanted them so badly that price didn't matter."

Francois Curiel, chairman of Christie's Europe and head of the company's jewelry department: "It's clear that Hong Kong has become one of the, if not the, most important fine jewellery centre for Christie's." Geneva is traditionally considered to be Christie's gems hub

"In Asia, more so than in other places, it is the quality, not the size, that matters most, more in Asia than elsewhere," he added. "The finest gems, even small ones, will fetch good prices in Asia, while Western markets favor bigger baubles."

Chinese buyers have become active consumers of diamond jewelry over the past few years. China is soon expected to take Japan's place as the world's second largest jewelry consumer.

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Back in 2000 when I lived in Minnesota a good friend of mine, a diamond and gemstone dealer, told me he had a vision: He was investing in colorful diamonds instead of clear ones. It was going to be the next trend, he said, he can feel it in his heart.

Mostly neglected at that time by jewelry designers on a quest for the perfectly clear stone, colored diamonds sat in his store waiting for better days.

Sure enough, it was not long before celebrity Jennifer Lopez displayed the gorgeous $3 million engagement ring boasting a (rather large) square pink diamond. Fairly quickly colorful diamonds took center stage. While other gemstones boast pink, blue, yellow, green, purple, brown and black none of them can match the glare and clarity of a natural diamond.

Pink diamonds, other than being especially rare, are definitely stunningly beautiful. They're a like a rose that never wilts but incessantly draws you inside its lattice of reflections, simultaneously tender and timeless.

Blue diamonds are another favorite, with a flawless blue diamond selling recently for a record price in an auction in Geneva. As blue diamonds are mined in only few places on earth, wearing them is one way to be out of the ordinary.

Green diamonds come in light, dark or yellowish tint. Yellows and browns are another delight for fashion designers. I personally find that my friends and I are mostly buying black diamonds, mesmerized by the beautiful jewelry designs available. 

The colors actually represent structural imperfections in the stone, hence the impeccable reputation of the clear, transparent diamonds.

My friend's ingenuity certainly paid off. When I think about it, and when I think of how fashion has a 30 year cycle, I realize my friend was just using some plain common sense.  

I find myself dressed in 70s designs and 70s colors, even 70s sunglasses and makeup. Is it any wonder that I also prefer stunning colored gemstone mosaics to clean-cut, smart, professional clear diamonds?

Extrapolating the thought I wonder what jewelry I'd be wearing in the next decade. I was young enough to make a fool of myself back in the notorious 80s, hairstyle, makeup and all. Is it possible I'd fall for the same trend again? And do diamonds go with the renewed 80s trends? What would I be wearing? Got to ask my diamond vendor friend, I'm sure he'll reinvent his inventory of diamonds pretty soon.

Photo Credits: cliff1066 & diamondbug.blogspot.com

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