Lucara to hold first sale through Clara digital sales platform

TSX-listed Lucara Diamond Corp will hold the first diamond sale through its 100%-owned digital sales platform, Clara Diamond Solutions, in November.

It has invited a select group of large vertically integrated jewellery houses and global diamond manufacturers to participate in the sale.

Clara is designed to achieve a sustainable premium over existing sales channels, including tenders and long-term supply contracts for sellers, and deliver increased margins for buyers.

“After several months of intense commercialisation efforts, which are tracking on schedule and under budget, we are excited to be moving forward with our first sale. Clara is a scalable business solution for the entire diamond industry that is long overdue and necessary to modernise, streamline and increase consumer confidence in the marketplace,” CEO Eira Thomas commented on Monday.

The platform, she elaborated, has received strong interest from the diamond community, and Clara has secured “excellent partners”, including major diamond manufacturers and jewellery houses.

Rough diamonds offered in Clara's first sale will include a selection of diamonds from Lucara's Karowe mine, in Botswana, and additional aggregated third-party rough diamonds comprising diamonds between 1 ct and 15 ct in size.

In recent weeks, Clara has onboarded a select number of vertically integrated jewellery houses and global diamond manufacturers to participate.

These buyers will place their polished diamond orders on Clara, which will run its first matching cycle.

Clara will use the results of this inaugural sale to help optimise the quantity and selection of rough diamonds offered in the short term, as the platform moves into continuous sales.

Diamonds sold through Clara will supplement and be complementary to Lucara's existing diamond sales channels, which will continue to use tenders.

Data collected from this sale will also provide key metrics to demonstrate the premium Clara can obtain over historical tenders and for rough diamonds bought through long-term supply contracts.

In cooperation with manufacturing partners, Clara will analyse both qualitative and quantitative feedback about buyers’ experiences at the time of sale and following delivery of the diamonds bought.

Additional feedback is anticipated as diamonds move through the diamond pipeline into manufacturing and ultimately final retail sale.

Following the incorporation of feedback from its initial sale, Clara intends to move into continuous sales using qualifying goods from the Karowe mine, as well as by inviting other producers and manufacturers to participate on the platform in the coming months.

BENEFITS

Clara will eliminate diamond sales by assortments and facilitate diamond sales on a “stone by stone” basis, achieving the best possible pricing for producers.

It provides manufacturers with an opportunity to only buy the diamonds they want, eliminating the need to re-trade and finance unwanted inventories. Manufacturers are also able to achieve higher margins as a result.

The continuous sales versus fixed sales cycles, smooths out revenue streams, Thomas explained in a statement issued on Monday.

Clara is integrated with blockchain technology, enabling the tracking of every rough diamond with a secure and immutable record of its origins and ownership, providing peace of mind for consumers.