French fashion house, Louis Vuitton, recently announced its new acquisition of the world’s second-largest diamond, hinting its interest in the luxury jewelry market. The 1,758 rough diamond was originally recovered by Lucara Diamond Corp in Botswana in April 2019, and has been nicknamed “Sewelo” or “rare find” in the Southern African Tswana language.
Lucara and Louis Vuitton haven’t put a price-tag on the diamond yet, stating that the rock’s “full potential” will only be revealed after it has been 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 Sewelo,” according to press statement.
Louis Vuitton’s acquisition of the diamond is the latest in a number of recent acquisitions by the parent company, LVMH, one of which is the acquisition of jeweler Tiffany & Co. for over $16 billion in November 2019. LVMH is also the owner of Italian jewelry brand Bulgari and watchmakers Hublot and TAG Heuer.
