LVMH Invests in Lab-Grown Producer Lusix

RAPAPORT... LVMH Luxury Ventures has joined two other investors in a $90 million funding round for lab-grown producer Lusix.The money will help Lusix open a new, solar-powered factory in Israel, where production is due to start this summer, the company said Friday."I don't think there's ever been, so far, a leading luxury brand that has invested in lab-grown diamonds," Lusix founder Benny Landa commented at the JCK Las Vegas show. "So the fact that it's them, and the fact that they chose us, we think is really fantastic."The other participants in the funding round are Ragnar Crossover Fund and More Investments. Those two companies participated in the initial $45 million funding round announced in February, which is included in the $90 million. Landa declined to give further financial details. The development comes after LVMH watch brand TAG Heuer unveiled a new timepiece featuring lab-grown diamonds from Lusix.The company also announced that its new factory in the city of Modi'in would be entirely fueled by solar panels at a dedicated solar farm in southern Israel. It has released its new tagline, Sun Grown Diamonds.Image: A pyramid-shaped lab-grown diamond from Lusix. (Lusix)