De Beers To Close Lightbox, Its Lab-Grown Diamond Jewelry Brand
De Beers Group said Thursday that it plans to close Lightbox, its lab-grown diamond jewelry brand, saying that the closure reinforces its 'commitment to natural diamonds in the jewelry sector.'
As part of the closure process, De Beers said it is in talks to sell certain assets, including inventory, with potential buyers.
The Lightbox lab-grown diamond manufacturing facility in Gresham, Ore., which opened in 2020, will be used solely to produce lab-gown diamonds for industrial applications, a business De Beers has been in for more than 70 years.
'De Beers Group will work closely with employees, retail partners, suppliers and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth process over the coming months. Customers will continue to receive support for existing purchases, including warranties and after-sales services, during the closure process,' De Beers said in a statement.
While the formal announcement may have seemed sudden, De Beers said a year ago it was planning to close the lab-grown jewelry brand. It comes at a time when De Beers rough diamond business has been in decline for the past couple years. In the first quarter of 2025, revenue was reportedly down 44% year-on-year with rough diamond sales down 11%.
It also comes at a time when De Beers' parent company, Anglo American, announced a year ago it was divesting from De Beers. Anglo American has been in the process of looking for potential buyers for De Beers. Botswana's government reportedly said recently that serious buyers are showing interest. Botswana and De Beers are partners in mining in the country. It is De Beers largest mining operation.
Lightbox was established in 2018 to disrupt the lab-grown diamond industry, making the argument that lab-grown diamonds are a distinct product from mined diamonds, 'with different attributes and different value.'
Lightbox was launched with transparent pricing of $800 per carat. Since then, De Beers said that lab-grown diamond prices for jewelry have fallen 90% at wholesale 'tracking closer to a cost-plus model as they have diverged from natural diamond prices,' De Beers said. Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group said it is closing Lightbox because of this price decline. A year ago Lightbox announced that it was cutting its diamond prices to $500 per carat.
'The persistently declining value of lab-grown diamonds in jewelry underscores the growing differentiation between these factory-made products and natural diamonds,' Cook said in the statement. 'Lightbox has helped to highlight the fundamental differences in value between these two categories. Global competition continues to intensify with more low-cost lab-grown diamond production from China. In the U.S., supermarkets are driving down lab-grown diamond jewelry prices. Overall, we expect both the cost and price of lab-grown diamonds to fall further in the jewelry sector.'
De Beers also said the closure is aligned with a strategy it presented a year ago to streamline its business to focus on high-return activities.
'As we move towards becoming a standalone company, we continue to optimize our business, reduce costs and build a focused De Beers that is positioned for profitable growth,' Cook said.
The manufacturing facility in Oregon will be used solely to produce diamonds for industrial applications by Element Six, a De Beers Group's subsidiary. The company previously produced lab grown diamonds for Lightbox and has produced lab-grown diamonds for industrial purposes for more than 70 years. De Beers said the company is well-positioned to seize the growing potential for synthetic diamond applications across a range of new technologies and applications.
In addition to Oregon, Element Six has manufacturing facilities in the U.K., Ireland, Germany and South Africa.
'The planned closure of Lightbox reflects our commitment to natural diamonds,' Cook said. 'We are also excited at the growing commercial potential for synthetic diamonds in the technology and industrial space.'
De Beers did not give a date on when the Lightbox business will close.
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