From October, Lightbox will offer pink, blue and white lab-grown diamonds in sizes up to and including two carats, with a 2-carat round brilliant lab-grown diamond pendant retailing for $US1,600 plus the cost of setting.
Previously, Lightbox pieces were limited to one carat.
The company also announced it is further expanding its product range with the launch of 'Finest', a new line which it describes as, “superior quality Lightbox lab-grown diamonds, priced well-below what is currently offered in the market.”
The Finest product line comes courtesy of a new proprietary diamond engineering process developed by the De Beers-owned lab-created diamond manufacturer Element Six.
It combines existing chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technology with a further refinement process that enhances colour in stones.
Element Six opened a new, advanced $US94 million factory in the US state of Oregon in October 2020.
Steve Coe, CEO Lightbox, said, "These exciting new introductions represent our continued commitment to innovation.
“Our incredible team continues to push the boundaries on lab-grown diamond engineering technology and thanks to our 50 years of experience, pioneering approach, IP portfolio and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility we have the capability to now take the next steps in expanding our lab-grown diamond product range to include stones of larger size and even higher qualities.”
Coe believes that the new technology enables fair and transparent linear lab-grown diamond pricing model up to 2 carats.
Each Finest lab-grown diamond will be laser inscribed with a unique quality mark under the table of the stone, which is invisible to the naked eye but can be seen through a 10x loupe.
A quality guarantee is provided with each stone detailing its cut, colour and clarity.
“This step reflects the quality and consistency of Lightbox lab-grown diamonds and serves as the product's warranty, providing consumers an extra measure of assurance,” Coe explained.
'Finest' lab-grown diamonds are guaranteed to be VVS clarity, with D–F colour an Excellent cut grade.
Market opportunities
Coe told US publication JCK Online that Lightbox expanded its product offering in response to consumer demand for bigger stones, noting its pair of 1-carat lab-created diamond studs have sold well.
He added that Pandora Jewelry’s recent introduction of a lab-created diamond line aligns with where Lightbox sees the “long-term opportunity for lab-grown: the ability to sell at an accessible price point.”
The jewellery giant launched its first collection set exclusively with lab-created diamonds, ‘Pandora Brilliance’, in May, while announcing plans to phase out natural diamonds from its product lines.
Currently exclusive to the UK – with plans to roll out the range worldwide in 2022 – Pandora Brilliance retails from £250 ($AU448.82) for a 0.15-carat sterling silver bracelet to £1,290 ($AU2,316.03) for a 14-carat white gold solitaire ring set with a 1-carat VS2 G–J colour lab-created diamond.
Coe also commented on Lightbox’s sales figures, noting its 2020 revenue was up 50 per cent compared with the prior year and 2021 revenue is expected to triple the 2020 figure.
The new, larger lab-created diamond jewellery will be available to purchase via the Lightbox website in late October and a broader rollout to both bricks-and-mortar and online retail stockists is planned for early 2022.
Launched in September 2018, the Lightbox jewellery range was initially only available to the US market, however it is now distributed in 75 countries.
Australia is listed in the ‘Global Shipping’ page, with the note, “Duties and taxes included in price displayed”.
More reading:
Pandora Jewelry introduces lab-created diamond range, phases out natural diamonds
Retail price of lab-created diamonds continues to fall
Lightbox Jewelry to be stocked by retailers