De Beers Shuts Down Lightbox Lab-Grown Diamond Brand to Refocus on Natural Diamonds

De Beers Group, the global diamond mining leader, has announced the closure of its lab-grown diamond (LGD) jewellery brand, Lightbox, marking a strategic pivot back to natural diamonds. The decision comes as part of the company’s broader Origins Strategy, launched in May 2024, to streamline operations and prioritise high-return business areas.

End of the Road for Lightbox

Launched in 2018, Lightbox was positioned to differentiate lab-grown diamonds from natural ones by offering transparent linear pricing at $800 per carat. However, the LGD market has undergone significant change. Wholesale prices for lab-grown diamonds in the jewellery sector have dropped by around 90%, pushing the market toward a cost-plus pricing model. This sharp decline in value has ultimately led De Beers to discontinue Lightbox.

In addition to market pressures, De Beers cited weakening demand and uncertainty around tariffs as contributing factors behind the closure. Discussions are currently under way for the sale of Lightbox’s assets, including its remaining inventory.

Reaffirming Commitment to Natural Diamonds

Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, emphasised that the decision to close Lightbox reflects the company’s long-term strategy to focus on natural diamonds, where brand heritage and enduring value remain strong.

“The persistently declining value of lab-grown diamonds in the jewellery market underscores the growing distinction between factory-made stones and natural diamonds,” Cook said.
“Global competition, especially from low-cost Chinese producers, and falling prices driven by US supermarkets, show that prices are likely to continue dropping. Lightbox played a role in clarifying the difference in value between lab-grown and natural diamonds.”

De Beers plans to reinvest resources from Lightbox into marketing campaigns and initiatives that enhance the global appeal of natural diamonds.

Support for Customers and Partners

As Lightbox operations wind down, De Beers will ensure a smooth transition for employees, suppliers, retail partners, and other stakeholders. Warranties and after-sales services for existing Lightbox purchases will continue to be honoured during the closure period.

Synthetic Diamonds to Power Innovation

While De Beers exits the LGD jewellery space, it remains invested in the future of synthetic diamonds in industrial and technological applications. Element Six, a De Beers subsidiary and former supplier to Lightbox, will continue developing lab-grown diamond solutions for sectors such as semiconductors, optics, and quantum technology.

Element Six will centralise its chemical vapour deposition (CVD) production in Oregon, USA, as part of its plan to strengthen global partnerships and fuel innovation across high-tech industries.

De Beers Reveals Overhaul of Sight System

De Beers plans to split sightholders into three categories and offer each group a more bespoke selection of rough diamonds as part of changes to its sales system.

Manufacturers, dealers and retailers will sign specific supply contracts designed for the “broad needs” of each business model, a De Beers spokesperson told Rapaport News Thursday.

The arrangement will take effect in January 2021, following the end of the current sightholder contract, which runs until December 2020. Applications start this week, giving companies four weeks to complete the process, a source in the rough market said on condition of anonymity.

The manufacturer contract will “support the core strengths” of each cutting firm, De Beers explained. Dealers — those that buy rough for resale — will receive a “regular and consistent range of goods,” especially in higher-volume areas. The retailer contract is tailored for companies that sell jewelry to consumers and also have polishing operations. Beneficiation contracts — for sightholders that commit to polishing certain goods in the country where they were mined — will remain as modified versions of the manufacturing contract.

“It is our ambition to offer supplies and services that can help to better support the unique strengths of the great businesses of the diamond midstream, and we feel this approach is the optimal way of achieving this,” the spokesperson said.

The company has long been contemplating changes to its sightholder system amid difficult conditions in the manufacturing and trading sectors, such as tight liquidity and an inventory imbalance. Its supply rules — based on a method known as “demonstrated demand” — have also faced criticism.

Under that system, De Beers mainly determines clients’ rough supply using their purchasing record — a controversial policy because it can encourage sightholders to take on unprofitable inventory to secure future access to its goods. It offers the diamonds in prearranged boxes that customers either take or leave, with only limited flexibility to adjust the contents. That sometimes forces sightholders to buy items they don’t want just so they can get the stones they need.

The current method has come under particular scrutiny given the excess polished in the market last year, which contributed to a slump in rough demand. Last July, Dutch bank ABN Amro urged its clients to stop buying unprofitable rough, and attacked the practice of making purchases purely to maintain supply allocations.

De Beers’ revenue fell 24% to $4.61 billion in 2019, while underlying earnings slid 87% to $45 million, as the supply glut left sightholders unwilling to buy more rough. The situation forced the miner to allow unprecedented refusals and other concessions to avoid flooding the market with goods.

The “need for us to adapt to the changing world” has been the subject of talks between De Beers and sightholders for a while, the company spokesperson added.

“This new approach to sightholder contracts is one way we are going about this,” he noted.

Source: DCLA

De Beers Reveals Overhaul of Sight System

De Beers plans to split sightholders into three categories and offer each group a more bespoke selection of rough diamonds as part of changes to its sales system.

Manufacturers, dealers and retailers will sign specific supply contracts designed for the “broad needs” of each business model, a De Beers spokesperson told Rapaport News Thursday.

The arrangement will take effect in January 2021, following the end of the current sightholder contract, which runs until December 2020. Applications start this week, giving companies four weeks to complete the process, a source in the rough market said on condition of anonymity.

The manufacturer contract will “support the core strengths” of each cutting firm, De Beers explained. Dealers — those that buy rough for resale — will receive a “regular and consistent range of goods,” especially in higher-volume areas. The retailer contract is tailored for companies that sell jewelry to consumers and also have polishing operations. Beneficiation contracts — for sightholders that commit to polishing certain goods in the country where they were mined — will remain as modified versions of the manufacturing contract.

“It is our ambition to offer supplies and services that can help to better support the unique strengths of the great businesses of the diamond midstream, and we feel this approach is the optimal way of achieving this,” the spokesperson said.

The company has long been contemplating changes to its sightholder system amid difficult conditions in the manufacturing and trading sectors, such as tight liquidity and an inventory imbalance. Its supply rules — based on a method known as “demonstrated demand” — have also faced criticism.

Under that system, De Beers mainly determines clients’ rough supply using their purchasing record — a controversial policy because it can encourage sightholders to take on unprofitable inventory to secure future access to its goods. It offers the diamonds in prearranged boxes that customers either take or leave, with only limited flexibility to adjust the contents. That sometimes forces sightholders to buy items they don’t want just so they can get the stones they need.

The current method has come under particular scrutiny given the excess polished in the market last year, which contributed to a slump in rough demand. Last July, Dutch bank ABN Amro urged its clients to stop buying unprofitable rough, and attacked the practice of making purchases purely to maintain supply allocations.

De Beers’ revenue fell 24% to $4.61 billion in 2019, while underlying earnings slid 87% to $45 million, as the supply glut left sightholders unwilling to buy more rough. The situation forced the miner to allow unprecedented refusals and other concessions to avoid flooding the market with goods.

The “need for us to adapt to the changing world” has been the subject of talks between De Beers and sightholders for a while, the company spokesperson added.

“This new approach to sightholder contracts is one way we are going about this,” he noted.

Source: DCLA