Lucara Diamond has entered into a collaboration with Louis Vuitton and the HB Company, a diamond manufacturer from Antwerp, to manufacture its historic 1758 carat Sewelô diamond recovered from its Karowe Mine, in Botswana in April 2019.
Image credit: Lucara Diamond
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.
"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," said Lucara chief executive Eira Thomas.
Lucara will receive an upfront 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.
The Sewelô diamond has been characterised as near gem of variable quality, with recent analysis confirming that it also includes domains of higher-quality white gem.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough & Polished
