VANCOUVER: Lucara Diamond Corp. has entered into a collaboration with Louis Vuitton (LV) to manufacture its historic, record setting, 1758 carat Sewelô diamond 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 characterized as near gem of variable quality, with recent analysis confirming that it also includes domains of higher-quality white gem. Lucara 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. Lucara will receive an up front non-material payment for the Sewelô and retain a 50% interest in the individual polished diamonds that result.
Further, 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.”