Brooklyn, N.Y. – Lightbox, the De Beers Group lab-grown diamond brand that’s sold online as well as in department stores and independent jewellers, is trying something new in New York.
Last week, the company opened a 250-square-foot showroom on the first floor of House of Showfields in the trendy and increasingly upscale Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn.
Described on its website as a “lifestyle discovery store”, House of Showfields is a bazaar-style retail space that features a rotating cache of brands.
Each brand has its own space, which it decorates according to its own aesthetic. Local news source Greenpointers.com described it as “Tim Burton meets the Kardashians”.
There are two House of Showfields spaces in New York (Brooklyn and Manhattan’s SoHo), as well as locations in Miami, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.Lightbox joins The House as one of more than 20 new brands for Spring/Summer 2023 and will remain in the space until November.
During the brand’s six-month residency, it will participate in Showfields’ programming, live activations and events, and will also use Showfields’ proprietary retail data and analytics technology.
Like most showrooms, the Lightbox experience is more about giving consumers the chance to see, touch and feel a selection of physical products from the originally online-only brand, rather than stocking the store with a full range of jewellery for sale.
Visitors can try on Lightbox jewellery, including the brand’s recently launched drop earrings and pieces from the new ‘Mini Trio’ collection, but instead of leaving with a jewellery purchase in hand, all orders must be placed online.Lightbox outfitted the space with mirrors, prismatic crystals and hidden lighting elements, all designed to show off the lab-grown diamonds to their best advantage.
Arched wall niches house product displays, while the centre table holds the jewellery that guests can handle.There is a mirrored area with a tablet where consumers can learn more about lab-grown diamonds, while mirrors and a seating area line the back wall, providing a place to take photos and, the brand hopes, share them on social media.
“Engaging one-on-one with consumers is a great way for a digitally native brand like ours to build and deepen connections,” said Antoine Borde, who took over as CEO of Lightbox in November 2022.
“With its forward-thinking approach and unique retail platform, Showfields gives us the opportunity to meet and engage with our customers and share the Lightbox story in a more meaningful way.”
Produced by De Beers in Gresham, Oregon, Lightbox is sold online and in 165 retail stores in the US and Canada, including Bloomingdale’s and Reeds Jewelers.
The brand said the House of Showfields opening is part of its overall strategy to “collaborate with best-in-class partners, both on and offline, as it continues to expand its retail presence”.
