Lucara and Louis Vuitton Team Up on Rare Diamond

Canada-listed Lucara Diamond (TSX:LUC,OTC Pink:LUCRF) will collaborate with international luxury brand Louis Vuitton (OTC Pink:LVMHF,EPA:MC) to curate and manufacture Lucara’s massive Sewelô diamond.

The whopping 1,758 carat gem was recovered from the miner’s Karowe mine in Botswana in April 2019 and is the largest stone ever discovered in the African nation.

The new partnership will also include the HB Company, an Antwerp-based diamond manufacturer.

The trio will work together to plan, cut and polish a collection of diamonds, all from the 1,758 carat Sewelô stone. Meaning “rare find” in Setswana, Sewelô is the second 1,000 plus carat gem recovered by Lucara in the last four years.

The massive stone weighs roughly 350 grams, with dimensions of 83 x 62 x 46 millimeters. According to Lucara, the diamond is “near gem of variable quality,” and includes areas of high-grade white gem.

Lucara will receive an undisclosed upfront payment for the large gem, as well as a 50 percent stake in all the individual diamonds derived from Sewelô.

An additional 5 percent of all retail sales will be directed back into Botswana through community-based initiatives.

“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,” Eira Thomas, CEO of Lucara, said.

Louis Vuitton, which is part of the massive luxury brand conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), has several high-end jewelry brands under its moniker, including TAG Heuer, Bulgari and Hublot.

In November, the company, which is comprised of 75 luxury brands, purchased renowned jewelry house Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) for US$16.2 billion.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to welcome Tiffany, a company with an unparalleled heritage and unique position in the global jewelry world, to the LVMH family,” Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, said at the time. “We will be proud to have Tiffany sit alongside our iconic brands and look forward to ensuring that Tiffany continues to thrive for centuries to come.”

Even though its Robin’s egg blue jewelry box is an identifiable pop culture icon, Tiffany has been a victim of the struggling diamond market, which has been impacted by low demand in the smaller segments as well as oversupply.

The strained market kept Tiffany’s shares below US$100 a unit for much of 2019. However, by mid-October, the company’s share price had begun trending higher, hitting its best price since July 2018 — US$134.10 — where it remains rangebound.

Shares of Lucara were up 6 percent on Thursday (January 16) trading for C$0.88.

Image courtesy of Lucara Diamond. 

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.