[LifeStyle] Louis Vuitton gets hold of a rough diamond of 1,758 carats

[ROVEN]

The big stone found a taker. Louis Vuitton, a subsidiary of the LVMH group, revealed on Wednesday January 15 that it had signed an agreement with Lucara to study and polish the Sewelo, a 1,758 carat diamond discovered in April 2019 at the Karowe mine in northeast Botswana , operated by the Canadian group in this African country. This exceptional stone is, to date, the largest of the rough diamonds discovered in the world since the extraction of Cullinan (3,106 carats, or 621.2 grams), stone from a mine in South Africa, in 1905 , which provided nine jewels to the British crown.

Larger than a tennis ball, the Sewelo weighs almost 352 grams. In the spring of 2019, Lucara revealed that he had discovered it using X-ray research technology. Since 2015, the miner has thus extracted two diamonds of more than 1,000 carats. The vein is known to have produced the Lesedi La Rona, a stone of 1,109 carats, in 2015. Failing to have reached the reserve price of 63 million euros, during an auction decried at Sotheby's in London in In 2016, it was sold for almost 45 million euros to Graff at the end of 2017. After eighteen months of studies, laser cutting and polishing, the London diamond cutter extracted a diamond from it. emerald cut of 302.37 carats as well as 66 other diamonds.

Black film
This time, the group from Vancouver signed an agreement with Louis Vuitton and the Antwerp company HB Company to study the cutting plan of the Sewelo, carry out its cutting and polishing. The Canadian said he would receive a "non-material payment" in advance and would be interested in up to 50% of the sales obtained from diamonds from the stone.

Asked about the setting up of this unprecedented operation in the diamond business, the group of Bernard Arnault did not wish to give any further details or reveal the amount of this risky contract. Because this stone covered with a black film will reveal its market potential "only after polishing", according to Lucara.

Made public two months after the signing of an agreement to acquire the New York jeweler Tiffany's, for an amount of 14.7 billion euros, this operation demonstrates the ambitions of the LVMH group in the jewelry market up to then dominated by the Swiss Richemont and its Cartier brand. It also reveals the exceptional resources allocated by LVMH to its Louis Vuitton subsidiary, whose turnover is estimated at 8 billion euros in 2018.

Read also LVMH buys Tiffany diamonds for 14.7 billion euros
Presentation by appointment
Within this brand known for its handbags, the stakes are high. The claw did not come from the diamond harem; its first fine jewelry collections date from 2009. The brand first used interior designers, before creating its own workshop, place Vendôme. Since 2017, she has been purchasing precious stones.

Three years later, the Sewelô should help raise awareness of its collections designed by Francesca Amfitheatrof since 2018. The Sewelô charm operation will start on January 21. Louis Vuitton will present the stone to its customers, Place Vendôme, by appointment, before doing the same abroad, especially in Taiwan.

It will then be cut by HB Company in the European diamond capital, Antwerp, Belgium. Three months of studies, between May and July 2020, will be "necessary" to make "windows" on the Sewelo in order to see through, according to a spokesperson, assess its properties and stop its cutting plan according to orders client.

Edited May 16, 2020 by Dr.Drako
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