Lucara Diamond Corp. (“Lucara” or the “Company”) this week announced that it has entered into a collaboration with Louis Vuitton (“LV”), the famous luxury House, and the HB Company (“HB”), a diamond manufacturer from Antwerp, to manufacture its historic, record-setting, 1758 carat Sewelô diamond. The diamond was recovered from its 100% owned Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana in April 2019.
Sewelô, which means “rare find” in Setswana, is the second, +1000 carat diamond recovered from Karowe in four years and the largest ever recovered in Botswana. The diamond has been characterised as a near gem of variable quality, with recent analysis confirming that it also includes domains of a higher-quality white gem.
Lucara said in a press release that it believes that the full potential of this special stone will only be revealed once polished. 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, the statement said. Lucara will receive an upfront non-material payment for the Sewelô and retain a 50% interest in the individual polished diamonds that result.
Furthermore, 5% of all of the retail sales proceeds generated from this historic collection will be invested directly back into Botswana on community-based initiatives undertaken by Lucara.
Eira Thomas CEO commented:
“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 jewellery that will commemorate this extraordinary discovery and contribute direct benefits to our local communities of interest in Botswana.”
Source: lucaradiamond.com
