INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
“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, the CEO of De Beers
Group, in a statement.For De Beers the trick is walking a fine line between acknowledging that there’s no real difference between the
lab-grown products it’s shilling and the higher-end stones that it mines without making the jewelry come off as sounding cheap.It’s also
a bid to undercut the legitimacy of competitors that are trying to impinge on De Beers’ high-end turf.Source: Lightbox Jewelry“Our
extensive research tells us this is how consumers regard lab-grown diamonds — as a fun, pretty product that shouldn’t cost that much —
so we see an opportunity here that’s been missed by lab-grown diamond producers
Lab-grown diamonds are a product of technology, and as we’ve seen with synthetic sapphires, rubies and emeralds, as the technology
advances, products become more affordable,” Cleaver continued.That quote cuts to the heart of De Beers’ problem, which could mean the
De Beers wants the lab-grown business delegitimized so it can hold on to core profits, but once it starts down the path, there’s a danger
that it could just be seen as a maker of cheap jewelry for the mall crowd set.In any event, De Beers’ own lab-grown jewelry business
Emerging from the research work that the firm had done on diamond products for other industries through its Element Six subsidiary, the new
Lightbox line of gems will also require an additional $94 million investment for a new facility outside of Portland, the company
said.“We’ve learned from our research that there is a lot of confusion about lab-grown diamonds – what they are, how they differ from
diamonds, and how they are valued
Lightbox will be clear with consumers about what lab-grown diamonds are and will offer straightforward pricing that is consistent with the
true cost of production,” said Steve Coe, Lightbox Jewelry’s general manager, in a statement.Technically, lab-grown diamonds only
differ from natural diamonds in that they’re made in a lab
Differences in the physical composition of the stones are nearly undetectable
It’s one reason why De Beers is etching a Lightbox logo into its stones, invisible to the naked eye but easily identified under
magnification.As Ariel Baruch, a jeweler at a company that sells lab-grown diamonds, told Popular Science, “If anyone tells you they can
tell the difference without the machine, they’re lying.”
