DeBeers Has Entered The World Of Lab Diamonds

Here’s why that’s a game changer…

If you’re one of the few people left on earth who don’t know who or what DeBeers is, allow us to give you a very brief explainer. DeBeers is a huge player in the diamond industry. They’ve been mining diamonds for over 130 years, and they (almost) single-handedly made the diamond engagement ring mainstream. You know the slogan ‘A diamond is forever?’ that was DeBeers. And that whole ‘spending 3 month’s salary on an engagement ring’ thing? Another DeBeers marketing campaign. Basically, the reason most brides wear a diamond on their left hand is because of DeBeers.

They may have been a major player for over a century, but DeBeer’s sparkle has finally started to wane these past few decades. They’ve tried to remain current by going after Far East markets, by pitching diamonds to independentm luxury-loving single women, and by launching more of the aggressive marketing campaigns they’re known for (like the 2016 ‘real is rare’ campaign). But none of it has really worked.

But when it comes to the millennial consumer – i.e. the demographic most likely to get engaged – only one thing will do; lab grown diamonds. For the woke generation, lab grown or ‘synthetic’ diamonds tick all the right boxes; conflict-free, environmentally friendly, and affordable (not to mention just as beautiful and sparkly as the real thing). DeBeers tried to suppress the rise of the synthetic trend for years, but now they’ve changed their strategy completely.

The diamond giant has finally, to the surprise of pretty much everyone, launched their own line of synthetic diamonds. Their new venture Lightbox is ‘shining a light on the lab-grown diamond industry’ by offering lab grown diamonds in white, blue and pink (blue and pink diamonds are very, very rare in their natural forms). The emphasis is not on engagement rings, but on ‘lighter moods and lighter moments like birthdays and beach days and just because days’ for ‘your bestie to your mom to your bestie who is now a mom.’  

As for price? A 0.25 carat stone will set you back $200, and you can double the price accordingly from there. So a half carat is $400, 0.75 carats is $600, a full carat $800, and so on. Settings are $100 for silver or $200 for 10 karat gold. So no matter how many stones a piece has, if the total weights in at one carat, then you pay $800 + the setting price, every time.

Lightbox currently offers earrings and pendants with white, blue or pink diamonds, but they plan to launch new colours and pieces in the not so distant future. And there’s not an engagement ring to be seen on the whole website. It’s quite a change from the DeBeers of days past.

Not everyone is happy about this latest development, however. And when DeBeers is pricing their synthetic diamonds this competitively, it’s not difficult to see why. One thing’s for sure; the next few years are going to be very, very interesting for synthetic diamonds.

You can take a look at the full Lightbox collection here: https://lightboxjewelry.com/