De Beers launches Lightbox Jewelry – the laboratory-grown diamond jewelry that may not be forever, but is perfect for right now

 

This new brand from De Beers will transform the lab-grown diamond sector by offering consumers a lab-grown product they have told us they want but aren’t getting: affordable fashion jewelry that may not be forever, but is perfect for right now.

A new De Beers project aims to seriously affect the competition by offering consumers high-quality, fashion jewelry designs at lower prices than existing lab-grown diamond offerings.

De Beers Group, the international corporation that specialises in diamond exploration, diamond mining, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors, announced the launch of Lightbox Jewelry – a new brand of laboratory-grown diamond jewelry which will be available from September.

Lightbox - Laboratory-grown diamonds, impeccably made, delightfully priced

Lightbox – Laboratory-grown diamonds, impeccably made, delightfully priced; photo: lightboxjewelry.com

 

Lightbox lab-grown diamonds will retail from US$200 for a quarter-carat stone to US$800 for a one-carat stone. The line will bring something new and innovative to the jewelry sector, featuring pink, blue and white lab-grown diamonds in a selection of accessibly-priced earring and necklace designs.

“Our extensive research tells us this is how consumers regard lab-grown diamonds – as a fun, pretty product that shouldn’t cost that much – so we see an opportunity here that’s been missed by lab-grown diamond producers. Lab- grown diamonds are a product of technology, and as we’ve seen with synthetic sapphires, rubies and emeralds, as the technology advances, products become more affordable. After decades of R&D investment, we’re able to offer consumers a better price today. While it will be a small business compared with our core diamond business, we think the Lightbox brand will resonate with consumers and provide a new, complementary commercial opportunity for De Beers Group.”

De Beers Group still sells approximately 35% of the world’s rough diamond production through its Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales businesses.

Lightbox will launch in the US and will initially be available to US-based consumers through the Lightbox e-commerce website, with retail partnerships to be announced in due course.

A subsidiary of De Beers Group, Lightbox will be the only jewelry brand to source lab-grown diamonds from De Beers Group’s Element Six business, a world leader in lab-grown diamond technology for more than 50 years. Any Lightbox lab-grown diamonds of 0.2 carats or above will carry a permanent Lightbox logo inside the stone. Invisible to the naked eye but easily identified under magnification, the logo will clearly identify the stone as lab-grown and also serve as a mark of quality and assurance that it was produced by Element Six.

To support Lightbox, De Beers Group is investing a total of US$94 million over four years in a new Element Six production facility near Portland, Oregon, adding to Element Six’s existing UK-based facilities. Once fully operational, the plant will be capable of producing upwards of 500,000 rough carats of lab-grown diamonds a year.

“Lightbox Jewelry offers consumers something new: sparkle and colors, at a very accessible price. In addition to a deep understanding of what consumers want, Lightbox brings innovation and a commitment to transparency to the lab-grown diamond sector,” added Steve Coe, General Manager, Lightbox Jewelry. “We’ve learned from our research that there is a lot of confusion about lab-grown diamonds – what they are, how they differ from diamonds, and how they are valued. Lightbox will be clear with consumers about what lab-grown diamonds are and will offer straightforward pricing that is consistent with the true cost of production.

Lightbox - Laboratory-grown diamonds, impeccably made, delightfully priced-

Lightbox – Laboratory-grown diamonds, impeccably made, delightfully priced; photo: lightboxjewelry.com