BlackDiBiase
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Louis Vuitton has just bought the world's second-largest diamond, another sign of the French brand's ambitions in the luxury jewelry market.
The 1,758-carat rough diamond, which was recovered by Lucara Diamond Corp in Botswana last April, is dark in color and about the size of your palm. The mining company named it "Sewelô," meaning "rare find" in the southern African Tswana language.
Lucara and the HB company, a Belgian diamond manufacturer, have now "entered into a collaboration" with Louis Vuitton to polish and manufacture a number of smaller jewels from the Sewelô diamond, according to a press release published Wednesday.
The purpose of this unprecedented collaboration between a miner, a cutting-edge manufacturer and a large luxury brand will be the planning, cutting and polishing of a collection of diamonds from Sewelô," said the press release, adding that the stone's "full potential" will only be revealed after it has been polished.
The release didn't disclose the value of the agreement, though it revealed that Lucara would receive an up-front payment and keep a 50% stake in the diamonds produced from the uncut stone. A further 5% of the resulting sales will be invested back into Lucara's community initiatives in Botswana, the company said.
"We are delighted to be partnering with Louis Vuitton, the famous luxury house, to transform the historic, 1,758-carat Sewelô, Botswana's largest diamond, into a collection of fine jewelery that will commemorate this extraordinary discovery and contribute direct benefits to our local communities of interest in Botswana," said Lucara CEO Eira Thomas in a press statement.
Louis Vuitton's purchase is just the latest move its parent company, LVMH, has taken into the luxury jewelry market. The conglomerate also owns Italian jewelry brand Bulgari and watchmakers TAG Heuer and Hublot, and in November, it acquired the iconic New York jeweler Tiffany & Co. for more than $16 billion.
When the Sewelô diamond was discovered last year, it took the title of second-largest in history, ousting the previous holder of the title -- a 1,111-carat diamond, called Lesedi La Rona, that was unearthed rom the same mine in Botswana.
The only larger diamond ever unearthed was the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan was eventually cut into smaller stones, some of which now form part of British royal family's crown jewels.
