Louis Vuitton made a splash as it showcased its latest purchase on Tuesday: the world’s second-biggest rough diamond.
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The LVMH-owned brand, which said last week that it was the new owner of the 1,758-carat Sewelo, displayed the glinting, blackened stone at its Place Vendome store in Paris.
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The company has not said how much it paid for the diamond. The size of a tennis ball and covered in carbon, it was discovered in Botswana last year and will be cut into gems.
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Its name, Sewelo, means “rare find” in Setswana, and the stone will be turned into a collection of fine jewellery, according to Lucara, a Canada-based diamond mining company which is partnering with Vuitton and an Antwerp-based manufacturer to produce the gems, and which owns the mine where it was found.
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Vuitton, better known for making pricey handbags, only entered fine jewellery in 2012 – where it competes with Bulgari, also owned by LVMH, and Richemont’s Cartier.
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High-end jewellers are displaying their wares in Paris alongside Haute Couture Week, a showcase of one-of-a-kind outfits by top designers. Pieces in these jewellery collections often cost tens of thousands of dollars.
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Jewellery has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of the luxury goods market in recent years, spurring LVMH’s $16.2 billion purchase of U.S. label Tiffany last year.
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Kering’s Gucci label also said last year it would branch into high-end jewellery.
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A Louis Vuitton employee displays a recently purchased "Sewelo diamond", the world's second-largest diamond, a 1,758 carat jewel of about the size of a tennis ball during a press preview in Paris, France.
Image Credit: Reuters
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