(IDEX Online) – Lucara Diamond Corp. said its Clara Diamond Solutions, a 100% owned digital sales platform, will start operations in November with a select group of large vertically integrated jewelry houses and global diamond manufacturers.

 

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.

 

CEO Eira Thomas commented: "After several months of intense commercialization 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 modernize, streamline and increase consumer confidence in the marketplace. The platform has received strong interest from the diamond community and we are delighted to have secured excellent partners, consisting of leading diamond manufacturers and jewelry houses."

 

Clara uses proprietary analytics, with the latest cloud and blockchain technologies, to sell rough diamonds individually, based on polished characteristics and demand, transforming the sales process, driving efficiencies and unlocking value for diamond producers and manufacturers alike, the firm said.

 

Under an exclusive collaboration agreement with Sarine Technologies, a digital fingerprint of each rough diamond is created and uploaded to the Clara platform with a corresponding asking price. Simultaneously, diamond buyers upload their specific polished diamond requirements in terms of size, cut, color and quality, including their desired purchase price, creating an 'order' within Clara. Clara uses proprietary analytics to match individual, scanned rough diamonds to the buyers' optimal polished requirements. Clara earns the differential between the asking price and purchase price of each match as its revenue and requires a minimum transaction spread to facilitate an optimal match.

 

Rough diamonds offered in Clara's first sale will include a selection of diamonds from Lucara's Karowe mine and additional aggregated third-party rough diamonds consisting of stones between one and 15 carats in size in the better colors and qualities. In recent weeks, Clara has brought on board a select number of leading vertically integrated jewelry houses and global diamond manufacturers to participate.

 

These buyers shall place their polished diamond orders on Clara which will run its first matching cycle. Clara will utilize the results of this inaugural sale to help optimize 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 complimentary 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 purchased through long term supply contracts. In co-operation with our manufacturing partners, Clara will analyze both qualitative and quantitative feedback about their experiences as purchasers, at the time of sale and following delivery of the diamonds purchased. Additional feedback is anticipated as diamonds move through the diamond pipeline into manufacturing and ultimately final retail sale.

 

Lucara said that Clara:

• Eliminates diamond sales by assortments; facilitates diamond sales "stone by stone" achieving best possible pricing for producers

 

• Manufacturers purchase only the diamonds they want, eliminating the need to re-trade and finance unwanted inventories, achieving higher margins

 

• Continuous sales versus fixed sales cycles, smoothes out revenue streams

 

• Clara is integrated with blockchain technology, so every rough diamond is tracked with a secure and immutable record of its origins and ownership, providing peace of mind for consumers

 

Next Steps

 

Following the incorporation of feedback from this initial sale, Clara intends to move into continuous sales using qualifying goods from the Karowe diamond mine and will be inviting other producers and manufacturers to participate on the Platform in the coming months.

 a