Louis Vuitton set to turn £38m rough diamond into jewellery

THE second-largest diamond ever discovered – thought to be worth around £38m – is to be turned into Louis Vuitton jewellery.

London-listed mining company Lucara uncovered the 1,758-carat rough diamond in an open-pit mine in Botswana last April.

It was named Sewelo, which means ‘rare find’ in the local Setswana language.

But instead of being snapped up by one of the market’s usual buyers, such as De Beers or Graff, the giant stone will go to fashion house Luis Vuitton, better known for its handbags and shoes.

Marcel Pruwer, former president of the Antwerp Diamond Exchange, said: ‘There are less than ten people in the world who would know what to do with a stone like that or how to cut it, and be able to put the money on the table to buy it.’

He believes the Sewelo stone could be worth around £38m, although it is still in rough form so its quality is not yet known.

The move by Louis Vuitton, whose jewellery has been modelled by Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner ( pictured), is a further sign of its parent company’s efforts to dominate the luxury goods market.

Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of Louis Vuitton’s owner LVMH, bagged iconic US jeweller Tiffany in a £12bn deal last year.

Michael Burke, chairman and chief executive of Louis Vuitton, said jewellery was the ‘biggest potential we have right now’ and was ‘one of the highest-growth categories’.

Louis Vuitton, founded in Paris in 1854, has form in the jewellery market. Designer Marc Jacobs created the brand’s first piece, a $20,000 charm bracelet featuring diamond-studded planes, in 2001.

When the time comes for Louis Vuitton to cut up and polish the enormous Sewelo stone, it could also sell the diamonds to a number of other LVMH brands.

It also owns Bulgari, historic French jeweller Chaumet and more modern brand Fred.