The announcement ends the company’s six-year experiment of producing its own lab-created diamonds for the jewellery brand, which launched in 2018.
De Beers CEO Al Cook confirmed the decision at a JCK Las Vegas breakfast event, stating that lab-created diamonds produced by Element Six would be used for technological purposes.
“We believe the value of lab-grown diamonds lies in technology rather than in jewellery,” he said.
In recent years prices for lab-created diamonds have sharply declined, impacting retail margins. Lightbox recently reduced retail prices by as much as 40 per cent.
In an interview with National Jeweler, Cook said Lightbox will continue operating as a consumer brand, using existing stock. Once that stock is depleted, he said the brand will reassess its position.
“At the moment, we’ve got a lot of stones available to Lightbox. Production will continue for a few months to ensure that they’ve got a stock of beautiful lab-grown diamond stones they can sell,” he explained.
“We’ll see where the brand goes, and we’ll see what happens."
In a report published in February, parent company Anglo American said that decreased prices are expected to reinforce the difference between lab-created and natural diamonds among consumers.
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