In a statement released on Friday, De Beers revealed that its lab-grown diamond brand, Lightbox, has implemented a permanent reduction in prices, offering its standard range of lab-grown diamonds for as low as $500 per carat, down from the previous price of $800 per carat.
The diamond mining and marketing giant cited months of price testing and extensive research in the lab-grown diamond jewelry sector as the basis for this decision. Under the revised pricing structure, Lightbox now offers three price points: $500 per carat for “I” and “J” colored stones, $600 per carat for “G” and “H” colored stones, and $900 per carat for the highest quality stones of “D,” “E,” and “F” color, previously priced at $1,500 per carat.
All diamonds produced by Lightbox come with a guaranteed minimum clarity grade of “very good” cut and “VS” clarity, with the top-tier stones (D, E, and F) boasting an “excellent” cut.
Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers Brands, emphasized that the price adjustment reflects the decreasing costs of lab-grown diamond production and underscores the distinction between lab-grown and natural diamonds. She stated, “The price difference between natural and lab-grown diamonds at retail is growing fast, accelerating consumer awareness that they are fundamentally very different products.”
Conseiller further explained, “A Lightbox highest quality two-carat lab-grown diamond now retails for around just 10 percent of an equivalent size and quality natural diamond. This price evolution supports our long-held view that the key opportunity in the jewelry sector for lab-grown stones will be within fashion jewelry, with lower price points enabling fun and colorful innovations, such as the blue and pink Lightbox stones.
Jewelry industry consultant Peter Smith interpreted De Beers’ and Lightbox’s move as an effort to establish the value proposition of lab-grown diamonds. He commented, “I think they’re looking to put a marker down to establish the relative value of lab-grown diamonds, at least in the lab-grown jewelry space, amidst the madness that defines the business right now.”
Lightbox manufactures its diamonds in a $94 million facility in Gresham, Ore., utilizing 100% renewable energy. The company employs the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method, where diamond “seeds” are subjected to a process involving carbon-containing gases at low pressure, generating a plasma that aids in the growth of diamond layers over a period of approximately two weeks.
Previously, Lightbox correlated its prices with the “Color,” “Clarity,” and “Cut” of its diamonds, which are key factors in assessing diamond quality according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
