Lightbox 1 Carat Diamond Jewelry

Lightbox, a De Beers jewelery subsidiary, recently launched a new collection called ‘Finest’ that offers diamonds with VVS clarity and D through F color. These finer stones are grown using the CVD growth method with a secondary refinement process.

These ‘Finest’ stones are laser inscribed with a unique quality mark that is invisible to the naked eye, but visible through a 10x loupe. ‘Finest’ stones also have a color guarantee that identifies the stone’s specific hue, saturation and consistency.

Color

A diamond is a timeless symbol of love, and it’s the perfect way to say “I’m thinking of you” or simply treat yourself. But the cost of a traditional stone is often prohibitive for many. That’s why lab-grown diamonds are so popular: they can be grown in a lab for a fraction of the price of mined diamonds.

GIA researchers have been testing the quality of Lightbox’s diamonds since they launched in 2018, and they’ve found that the company has an excellent track record. They’ve also reaffirmed that the diamonds aren’t subjected to post-growth HPHT processing, which many competitors use to improve color.

Lightbox’s standard solitaires are described as near-colorless (G-J) with VS clarity, and they are available in pink and blue. They’re priced at $800 per carat for individual loose stones and total weights, which sets them up as a cheaper alternative to other diamonds in the De Beers lineup.

The new Finest line is a bit more expensive than Lightbox’s standard collection, but it comes with a higher level of color saturation. It costs $1,500 for a one-carat round solitaire described as colorless (D-F) with VVS clarity, and the pink and blue options have even higher levels of saturation.

In addition to the high level of color saturation, Finest will also be laser inscribed with a unique quality mark that’s invisible to the naked eye but visible through a 10x loupe. This will ensure that the stones won’t be confused for mined ones, and it’ll serve as a way to give customers peace of mind.

Finally, Lightbox will now offer larger stones, with sizes ranging up to and including two carats. This expansion is accompanied by a new technology called “Finest,” which combines the brand’s existing exceptional CVD synthesis process with a “further leading refinement” to enhance the color in its lab-grown diamonds.

This new technology will allow Lightbox to sell larger diamonds than it has been able to previously, while still offering the same price point. It’s also a sign of the brand’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability, as it currently uses 350 kilowatt hours of power to grow each polished carat. The company plans to increase its share of renewable energy to 50% in 2021 and to 100% by the end of 2022.

Clarity

Clarity is one of the most important characteristics of a diamond. It can make or break a piece of jewelry and can have a significant impact on your overall happiness and success.

Lab-grown diamonds are optically identical to natural diamonds and they maintain the same carbon element properties, so if a stone has been properly analyzed, you will not be able to tell the difference between a lab-grown and a mined diamond without specialized testing equipment. The most effective way to determine whether a lab-grown diamond is clear is by taking it to a professional gemologist who can analyze the carbon elements and see what grades it has received on a GIA diamond grading report.

According to Abe Sherman, director of Business Innovation Group (BIG) in New York, Lightbox 1 carat stones have clarity equivalent to VVS2 on the GIA scale, which is a very high quality grade. However, these gems are not subjected to post-growth HPHT processing, which is a common process used by CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) growers to improve the color of their diamonds.

The company’s new ‘Finest’ line is a further refinement of its existing CVD synthesis technology and integrates a technique to enhance the color in its high-quality lab-grown diamonds. These ‘Finest’ stones are guaranteed to have VVS clarity and D, E, or F color, with excellent cut.

A ‘Finest’ stone is laser inscribed with a unique quality mark under the table that is invisible to the naked eye but visible to a 10x loupe, providing an extra measure of assurance. This is in addition to the quality guarantee that accompanies every Lightbox stone sold.

Coe says Lightbox has plenty of supply to meet demand, ensuring consumers will have access to its loose lab-grown diamonds when they want them. The company also aims to make the technology more accessible by offering its stones in smaller sizes.

Carat

Three years ago, De Beers relaunched the brand Lightbox Jewelry, bringing lab-grown diamonds to an entirely new market. At that time, lab-grown diamonds were growing in popularity and undercutting the pricing of other producers.

At $800 per carat, Lightbox jewelry was also a fraction of the cost of a comparable natural mined diamond, and it offered an array of colorless diamonds that were indistinguishable from their natural counterparts. It was a move that made sense as lab-grown diamond prices dropped and consumers began to see them as an affordable alternative to traditional mined diamonds.

In August, Lightbox expanded its standard collection with larger sizes and introduced a more premium line called “Finest” that grew better quality stones with a second refinement process using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method to elevate the stones’ clarity and cut. The new “Finest” collection includes VVS clarity, D through F color, and excellent cuts.

The new ‘Finest’ stones are grown using the same CVD technology as their standard counterparts, but the company also uses a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) blast that further boosts their saturation and consistency. The brand then laser inscribes each ‘Finest’ stone with a unique quality mark that is invisible to the naked eye but can be seen with a 10x loupe.

A 1-carat ‘Finest’ diamond, for example, is GIA-graded VVS with a very good cut and sells for $1,500 per carat. Adding a setting to these gems brings the price up to $2,500, which is about double the cost of an equivalent natural mined diamond.

To make sure customers can trust the quality of their stones, Lightbox also offers a quality guarantee that details their cut, color and clarity. This step is important, as it serves as the product’s warranty and provides a consumer with a level of confidence in their diamond purchase.

Ultimately, the only way that Lightbox is going to be able to compete against natural Forevermark diamonds is by offering a lower price point, Coe says. In addition, he believes that the market is ready for a lab-grown diamond product with the same level of quality as a mined one.

Setting

In late May, industry bellwether De Beers crossed the Rubicon, announcing it would enter the lab-created diamond jewelry space through its subsidiary Lightbox. For the last year, Lightbox has been offering fashion jewels made with lab-grown diamonds only through its website or through occasional pop-up promotions.

The company is testing the brick-and-mortar retail marketplace, with two retailers – Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue – signing deals to sell its collections in select stores nationwide. The collections will be merchandised separately from natural diamonds and branded clearly as laboratory-grown diamonds to customers in store as well as on-line.

Pricing will follow Lightbox’s linear model, starting at $200 for a quarter carat and ranging up to $800 for a one carat diamond, plus the cost of the setting. The brand’s chief executive officer, Steve Coe, says he hopes to “strengthen engagement” with the brand in key markets and to better understand how consumers interact with its jewelry.

As for the settings, there are two options: a traditional three-prong setting that gives the stone’s facets space to shine or a bezel setting with a metal rim surrounding the center stone. The classic prong setting is ideal for those who want to keep the diamond from getting scratched, while a bezel setting can help protect the stone from damage in everyday wear and tear.

Another style option is a pendant necklace, which can be worn as a fashion statement or paired with a bracelet or stacking rings for added bling. The pendants can be crafted in yellow gold, white gold or sterling silver and are available in an assortment of stone cuts.

With an emphasis on “moments, not milestones,” the jewelry line aims to appeal to younger consumers. The collection features stud earrings, pendants and a variety of bracelets set with pink, blue or white diamonds.

The lab-grown diamonds are guaranteed to be VVS clarity, colorless (D, E, F in color), and have an excellent cut. The company is also implementing a new technology called “Finest” that enhances the saturation and consistency of its blue and pink lab-grown diamonds. The process involves a proprietary diamond engineering technique that combines Lightbox’s exceptional CVD synthesis technology with a further leading refinement.

Lightbox 1 Carat Diamond Jewelry