Lucara Diamond Corp. announced a collaboration with French luxury house Louis Vuitton and the HB Company (“HB”), a diamond manufacturer from Antwerp,  According to a press release from Lucara, 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 the 1,758-carat Sewelô rough diamond, which was recovered by Lucara Diamond Corp in Botswana in April 2019.

Lucara’s Sewelô Diamond | photo courtesy Lucara

The unbroken stone was recovered through Lucara’s state of the art XRT circuit, commissioned in April 2015. Weighing close to 352 grams, the diamond has been characterized as near gem of variable quality, including domains of high-quality white gem. Sewelô, which means “rare find” in the southern African Tswana language, is the second largest diamond in recorded history and the largest diamond recovered in Botswana.

Lesedi La Rona Diamond | photo courtesy Graff

The previous holder of the title was a 1,111-carat diamond, called Lesedi La Rona, that was unearthed rom the same mine in Botswana. 

“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.

The deal, which gives Lucara an up-front payment and a 50% stake in the diamonds produced from the uncut stone, further bolsters the Louis Vuitton’s ambitions in the fine jewelry market. The purchase is the most recent move by its parent company, LVMH, to dominate the luxury jewelry sector. In November, it acquired Tiffany & Co. for more than $16 billion. LVMH also owns Italian jewelry brand Bulgari and watchmakers TAG Heuer and Hublot,

Enhancing LVMH’s mission of environmental and social responsibility, the company announced that 5% of sales from the collection will be invested back into Lucara’s community initiatives in Botswana.