De Beers to sell synthetic diamonds as gemstones

De Beers group announced the launch of a new company called Lightbox Jewelry that will begin marketing a new brand of synthetic diamond jewelry under the Lightbox name in September 2018, offering consumers high-quality, fashion jewelry designs at lower prices than existing synthetic diamond offerings.

Lightbox synthetic 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 synthetic diamonds in a selection of accessibly-priced earring and necklace designs.

“Lightbox 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,” said Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers group.”

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 synthetic diamonds from De Beers group’s Element Six business, a world leader in synthetic diamond technology for more than 50 years. Any Lightbox synthetic 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 synthetic 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, USA 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 synthetic diamonds a year.

For more information, visit www.lightboxjewelry.com.