De Beers Lab Grown Diamonds For Sale
De Beers Lab Grown Diamonds For Sale
The world’s biggest diamond miner, De Beers, is putting the finishing touches on its first line of man-made jewelry. It will sell a line of pink, blue and white lab-grown diamonds that cost about a tenth of the price of a mined stone under a subsidiary called Lightbox Jewelry.
The new line is a historic shift for the company, which for decades has relied on perceptions of scarcity to drive up prices. It is designed to undercut rival lab-diamond makers that have been making inroads into the $80 billion gem market.
1. The Price
De Beers has for decades cultivated the mystique and aura around diamonds, turning them into a symbol of status and romantic devotion. Using a combination of advertising and what has been called the most successful cartel arrangement in modern commerce, they’ve convinced customers that any man who is serious about his romantic intentions should spend at least two months’ salary on an engagement ring.
As a result, De Beers has built a billion-dollar empire out of this simple gem. They’ve branded their natural gems with the slogan, “A Diamond is Forever.”
Now they’re going after a far more affordable alternative, lab-grown diamonds. They’ve started a new company, Lightbox Jewelry, which makes sparkling pink, blue and white stones that cost a fraction of the price of mined diamonds.
The brand’s price point is based on a $800 per carat scheme. It’s designed to appeal to a younger generation of shoppers who don’t want to be tied down to the idea that a gemstone is something they’ll be holding on to for their entire lives.
Rather than chasing after consumers who want a “lifelong investment,” the company is trying to create a clear distinction between its lab-grown diamonds and naturally formed gems, which have a much higher value in the eyes of some buyers. It says the new brand will also encourage people to think of synthetic stones as a fun piece of fashion jewelry that doesn’t require them to invest a lifetime.
Analyst Paul Zimnisky of BTIG said that lab-grown diamonds have already begun to fall in price and the trend is likely to continue. He pointed to lower production costs and a growing demand for the gems from China, which is stepping up its output of cheap manufactured diamonds.
As a result, lab-grown diamond sales are expected to grow quickly and share of total diamond sales is projected to rise from 7% today to nearly 30% by 2020. While this is still a small market share, it’s a positive sign for the future of the industry.
It’s no secret that both the natural and lab-grown diamond industries are having to up their game to stay relevant in the eyes of their consumers. Both are facing financial challenges, and both need to improve their ethical and environmental practices.
2. The Quality
De Beers, one of the world’s oldest and most well-known diamond mining companies, has launched its own lab grown diamond brand, Lightbox Jewelry. The brand is positioned as a low cost alternative to natural diamonds and has a younger generation in mind.
The company claims that its lab-grown diamonds are optically, chemically, and physically identical to natural diamonds. They are created by putting minute slivers of synthetic diamond crystal in a high-temperature plasma reactor that replicates the conditions found at the earth’s surface. The slivers are subjected to a heat of 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which causes them to grow into small diamonds that are large enough for cutting and polishing.
As a result, the lab-grown market is starting to pick up momentum. In a recent survey, lab-grown diamonds accounted for 7% of sales in US specialty jewelers.
Despite this, the industry still has some catching up to do. For example, a few governments have taken steps to set lab grown diamonds apart from natural ones, including dropping the word “natural” from their definition and introducing a separate report format.
It’s also worth noting that, although they’re marketed as sparkly and affordable alternatives, lab-grown diamonds aren’t necessarily as rare or valuable as natural ones. This may make it harder for the 130-year-old De Beers to convince customers that lab-grown diamonds are as good as natural ones.
However, the company is making it easier to tell the difference by using a spectrometer to see the differences in color and clarity. It also puts a “Lightbox” logo on the stones that can be spotted under magnification.
These branding efforts are part of an effort by the company to make lab-grown diamonds more distinct from natural gems, which it hopes will keep consumers loyal to diamonds. It is also attempting to create a sense of mystery about lab-grown diamonds, so consumers will continue buying them for engagements and other events.
Unlike the majority of diamonds on the market, which are produced by companies that mine and sell natural stones from deep inside the earth, lab-grown diamonds come from suppliers like Element Six, which is owned by De Beers. The companies claim to produce diamonds that are not only beautiful and inexpensive, but also environmentally friendly and sustainable.
3. The Appearance
De Beers is one of the world’s most famous diamond companies. They shaped the perception that diamonds are rare (they aren’t) and created the myth that you need to spend a month’s salary on an engagement ring (you don’t).
But when lab-grown diamonds became available, De Beers started fighting them tooth and nail. Despite a price gap, consumers eventually discovered lab-grown diamonds and started buying them.
Now, the diamond industry is struggling to make sense of this new generation of stones and figure out how they can work together. The battle between natural and lab-grown diamonds has become surprisingly nasty, but neither seems poised to disrupt the other out of business.
A decade ago, the cost of producing lab-grown diamonds was still prohibitive to manufacturers. But as the technology improved and costs continued to fall, the price point of these man-made diamonds lowered, too.
Today, you can buy a 1 carat white lab-grown diamond for $800, a 0.50 carat blue lab-grown diamond for $400, and a 0.75 carat pink diamond for $650. The prices of these lab-grown diamonds are much lower than they were a few years ago, which makes them attractive to many buyers.
The diamonds are produced using a process similar to that of nature, which involves heat and pressure. Minute slivers of lab-grown diamond crystal are placed in a plasma reactor, heated to 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit and subjected to intense pressure.
This pressure causes the crystals to grow in size and shape. After two weeks, they’re large enough to cut and polish into gem-quality diamonds.
These lab-grown diamonds can be sold to jewelry retailers as natural, or they can be crafted into custom pieces. Most of these lab-grown diamonds are a VS1 clarity and G color.
But if you’re looking for a more unique style, there are even more options. Ada Diamonds, for example, specializes in creating lab-grown diamonds that are shaped and polished to look like traditional mined diamonds.
In fact, Ada Diamonds is owned by a subsidiary of De Beers, so its lab-grown diamonds are likely to be of high quality.
4. The Environment
There’s no denying that lab-grown diamonds look gorgeous and can be cheaper than their natural counterparts, but they also represent a major threat to the mining industry. For decades, diamonds have been marketed as something that’s rare and authentic, something that you can only find at the mines. But in recent years, many consumers have shifted their preference for jewelry and diamonds to synthetic, more affordable stones.
This trend has been fueled by a combination of price and the fact that younger consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental, ethical and human rights problems associated with diamond mining. This has led to a growing number of brands that are offering lab-grown diamonds for sale, including de beers, which has launched a line called Lightbox Jewelry.
The company has invested $94 million in a new facility near Portland, Ore., that will enable it to produce more than 500,000 rough carats of diamonds annually. It will launch the line in September and executives say they plan to sell it in stores by the end of the year.
In addition to their lower costs, lab-grown diamonds are a more sustainable option than mined ones. They’re created by mimicking the process that natural diamonds go through, in which the raw stones are formed deep inside Earth.
But there’s another reason that consumers are choosing lab-grown diamonds instead of mined ones: They want to avoid the risks involved in diamond mining. This includes environmental issues such as deforestation and wildlife habitat loss, as well as concerns about child labor and other human rights abuses.
Thankfully, the diamond mining industry has been learning a lot about how to be more sustainable in the past few years. For one, they’ve stepped up their efforts to improve environmental performance and reduce the carbon footprint of their operations.
However, there are still a number of issues that need to be addressed. For instance, it can be difficult to tell the difference between a diamond that’s been mined and one that was grown in a lab. This can lead to confusion, and some consumers have been hesitant to purchase lab-grown diamonds.
De Beers Lab Grown Diamonds For Sale