Louis Vuitton has discovered a 549-carat raw diamond

Less than a year after the acquisition of the 1758-carat Sewelô rough diamond, the second largest in the world, Louis Vuitton announces the discovery of a high-quality rough diamond in a 549-carat gem. 

The discovery took place last February, in a mine in Karowe, Botswana, in the so-called "glove box", the sorting section of the MDR (Mega Diamond Recovery XRT Circuit) which identifies and retrieves the largest specimens of carbon, before they reach the destructive process of crushing the ore. Once weighed and initially evaluated, the diamond was found to be a 549-carat piece of exceptional purity, lustre and colour. The discovery took place in the same unit south of the Lucara-owned mine where Sewelô was also found. The 549-carat diamond was named Sethunya, which in Setswana means flower, a reference to the floral element that makes up the French Maison's monogram. The diamond is estimated to be 1-2 billion years old, it is remarkable both for the texture, extremely pure and for the whiteness of the whole crystal. 

With this second discovery, and the ongoing collaboration with Lucara, a leading diamond producer and owner of several mines, and HB Antwerp, a world-renowned diamond supply chain, Louis Vuitton aims at further enhancing its position within the world of high jewellery, especially after the troubled agreement for the acquisition of Tiffany&Co. by the LVMH group. 

In fact, the Maison intends to offer bespoke diamonds made from this specimen, which will be cut and polished to order, according to the customer's wishes, for an ultra-personalized experience at the highest levels of luxury.