De Beers has announced its intention to close its lab-grown diamond jewellery brand, Lightbox, on 8 May 2025, reinforcing the group’s commitment to natural diamonds in the jewellery sector. As part of the closure process, De Beers is discussing the sale of certain assets, including inventory, with potential buyers.
Lightbox, which was established in 2018, has highlighted that lab-grown diamonds are a distinct product from natural diamonds, with different attributes and different value. The business was launched with transparent linear pricing of $800 per carat. Since then, lab-grown diamond prices in the jewellery sector have fallen 90 percent at wholesale, tracking closer to a cost-plus model as they have diverged from natural diamond prices. Reflecting this sharp price decline, De Beers intends to discontinue the Lightbox business. The evolution of lab-grown diamond values in the jewellery sector underpins De Beers’ core belief in rare, high-value, natural diamond jewellery as a separate category from low-cost, mass-produced lab-grown diamond jewellery, said the group.
The proposed closure of the Lightbox business reflects a key executional milestone in De Beers’ Origins Strategy, as set out in May 2024, to focus on high-return activities and streamline the business. The closure will enable De Beers to reallocate investment to initiatives focused on reinvigorating desire for natural diamonds through category marketing.
De Beers will work closely with employees, retail partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth process over the coming months. Customers will continue to receive support for existing purchases, including warranties and after-sales services, during the closure process, said the group.
Element Six, De Beers Group’s subsidiary that previously produced lab grown stones for Lightbox, maintains its exclusive focus on industrial solutions using synthetic diamonds. Building on its world-leading status developed over more than seven decades, Element Six is well-positioned to seize the rapidly growing potential for synthetic diamond applications across a range of future-facing technologies and applications, such as semiconductors and quantum technologies.
Al Cook, Chief Executive Officer of De Beers, said: “As we move towards becoming a standalone company, we continue to optimise our business, reduce costs and build a focused De Beers that is positioned for profitable growth. The persistently declining value of lab-grown diamonds in jewellery underscores the growing differentiation between these factory-made products and natural diamonds. Lightbox has helped to highlight the fundamental differences in value between these two categories. Global competition continues to intensify with more low-cost lab-grown diamond production from China. In the US, supermarkets are driving down lab-grown diamond jewellery prices. Overall, we expect both the cost and price of lab-grown diamonds to fall further in the jewellery sector.” (Photo courtesy: De Beers)
14-05-2025
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