Luxury brand Louis Vuitton has announced its participation together with Lucara Diamond Corporation and the HB Company of Antwerp, in a unique collaboration to transform a rare and exceptional diamond specimen, a 1758 carat diamond, the second-largest rough diamond ever discovered. The monumental 1758 carat rough diamond, now named Sewelô, meaning Rare Find in the Setswana language, was recovered at the Lucara Diamond Corp.’s 100% owned Karowe mine.
Roughly the size of a tennis ball, measuring 83mm x 62mm x 46mm, weighing 352 grams, the Sewelô is eclipsed only by the Cullinan, at 3106 carats, discovered in South Africa in 1905, and fashioned into historic diamonds that are now in the British Crown Jewels and royal collection. Remarkably, the diamond remained unbroken thanks to Lucara’s high-tech XRT circuit, a highly advanced recovery process that avoids crushing the diamond-bearing rock, a drawback of previous processes. Initial analysis of the Sewelô characterises the stone as ‘near gem quality’ with ‘domains of high-quality white gem’, while detailed studies of the stone, its composition, qualities and potential will continue for several months.
The Sewelô is spectacular not only for its immense size but also for its intriguing characteristics of shape, colour, formation and composition. The rough crystal is largely covered in a very thin layer of black carbon, enveloping yet hinting at the 2 billion-year-old secrets hidden within. The full extent of variations in colour and clarity of the diamond yield is still unknown.
Louis Vuitton is working closely with master diamond cutters, HB Company, from Antwerp, studying the Sewelô in minute detail, to assess the final the potential of the stone, and plan the optimum yield of individual finished, cut and polished diamonds. In a spirit of creative collaboration with HB Company, Louis Vuitton will be involved at every stage, ensuring that the maximum light, life and fire, character and charisma will be unleashed from the magnificent rough crystal. The size of the diamond will enable the production of Made-to-Order Louis Vuitton Cut diamonds, each skillfully fashioned in the form of Louis Vuitton’s emblematic Monogram, the rounded flower and star-shaped motif. LV plans to use the extraordinary variety and abundance within the Sewelô to offer clients the opportunity to create bespoke, custom-cut diamonds.
