A King’s Ransom for a Good Cause

The world of luxury is rarely synonymous with charity, but that may be about to change with the company Livoos – a luxury lifestyle e-commerce platform that donates 50 percent of its revenue to charitable causes.

The company, the brainchild of founder and CEO Flavio Amorelli, was launched earlier this month in London, and stocks among other items, men’s and women’s jewelry and watches. According to The Daily Telegraph, “[the company] charges brands a standard 20 percent commission, of which half is donated to a charity of the customer’s choice. That works out at 10 percent of the retail price of every item sold. Considering that among the products online is a gold and diamond Backes & Strauss watch that retails for £28,400 ($42,000), the numbers soon rack up.”

Livoos has a number of charitable partners, which include Alzheimer Scotland; CESVI, which supports children in underprivileged suburbs around the world; Combat Stress, an armed forces veterans’ mental health charity, Fish Love, a campaign that supports sustainable fishing and Youmanity, a charity committed to multiculturalism, supporting social integration and the promotion of human rights through cultural diversity. These charities and others are Livoos’s causes, but customers can also choose a cause closer to home, such as a hospice or children’s charity.

Amorelli admitted that people do not think about giving to charity and then see if they can tie it in with purchasing a luxury item, but are very drawn to the initiative of buying luxury, knowing that half the proceeds will go to a worthy cause. With consumers often possessing feelings of guilt at such conspicuous consumption, the understanding that others will be helped because of it can help to assuage those sentiments. It seems to be the kind of endeavor that will also work through word-of-mouth, and gives another layer to the item’s story that goes beyond its manufacture and the materials used to make it.

Sometimes, as consumers and opinion writers on the luxury, diamond and diamond jewelry world, we can become quite cynical about a company’s attempts to show that it takes its Corporate Social Responsibility seriously. I have been aware of many press releases from throughout the diamond pipeline – producers, manufacturers and retailers – who wish to broadcast their good deeds to the industry. Clearly they want to encourage goodwill, but we must acknowledge them all for doing what they can to use their position for their chosen causes – be it alleviation of poverty or encouraging young people to follow previously undreamt of opportunities.

This is exactly the thing that customers of all ages, but perhaps the younger generations are most looking for – authenticity. This is a fabulous initiative, an attractive idea and the kind of thing that could be quite easily rolled-out throughout most of our pipeline.

We recently had the unveiling of the DPA’s new slogan “Real is Rare,” and although it has divided opinion, the message is a clear one that bears repetition. It’s about stories, it’s about connection, and it’s about authenticity.