Luxury brand Louis Vuitton has partnered with Lucara Diamond Corp to create a historic diamond collection from the 1,758-carat Sewelô, Botswana’s largest diamond. 

Lucara said the full potential of the stone, recovered from the Karowe mine in April 2019, will only be revealed once polished. Antwerp-based diamond manufacturer HB Company is also part of the initiative.

“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 said in a statement. 

Under the partnership, Lucara will receive an upfront non-material payment for Sewelô and retain a 50 per cent interest in the resulting individual polished diamonds.

In addition, 5 per cent of sales proceeds generated from the collection will be invested in community-based initiatives undertaken by Lucara in Botswana.

Eira Thomas, CEO of Lucara, commented, “We are delighted to be partnering with Louis Vuitton to transform the 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.”

Sewelô, which means “rare find” in Setswana, is the second, 1,000-carat-plus diamond unearthed from Karowe in four years and the largest ever recovered in Botswana. The diamond has been characterised as near-gem of variable quality, with recent analysis confirming that it also includes domains of higher-quality white gem.