DiamondBuzz
De Beers Shuts Down Lightbox, to Refocus on Naturals
Citing steep price declines and shifting market dynamics, De Beers discontinues its lab-grown jewelry brand to focus on premium natural diamond offerings under its renewed “Origins Strategy.”
De Beers has announced the planned closure of its lab-grown diamond jewelry brand, Lightbox, marking a strategic pivot back to its core business of natural diamonds. The company is currently in talks with potential buyers for Lightbox’s assets, including its remaining inventory, as it seeks to streamline operations and focus on higher-value market segments.
Launched in 2018, Lightbox was positioned as an accessible lab-grown diamond (LGD) brand, offering transparent pricing at $800 per carat to underscore the difference in value between lab-grown and natural diamonds. However, since then, the LGD jewelry market has experienced a dramatic shift, with wholesale prices falling by approximately 90% due to oversupply and intensifying global competition—especially from low-cost producers in China and mass-market retailers in the U.S.
De Beers cited this sustained price decline as the primary driver behind the decision to discontinue the brand. According to the company, the move aligns with its belief that lab-grown diamonds, increasingly commoditized, occupy a fundamentally different category from natural diamonds, which are positioned as rare, emotionally significant, and high-value.
The closure is part of the broader “Origins Strategy” unveiled in May 2024, which aims to refocus the business on high-return areas and reinvigorate consumer demand for natural diamonds. This includes increased investment in industry-wide marketing and initiatives that emphasize the unique value proposition of natural stones.

De Beers Group CEO Al Cook commented, “The persistently declining value of lab-grown diamonds in jewelry underscores the growing differentiation between these factory-made products and natural diamonds. As lab-grown production expands and prices drop, the gap will only widen.”
De Beers affirmed that it will support all current Lightbox customers through the transition, maintaining warranties and after-sales services. The company is also working closely with employees, retail partners, and suppliers to ensure a smooth wind-down of operations.
Meanwhile, De Beers’ synthetic diamond manufacturing subsidiary, Element Six, will shift its focus entirely to industrial and technological applications, where synthetic diamonds continue to show strong growth potential. “We are excited about the expanding role synthetic diamonds can play in fields like quantum computing, high-performance electronics, and medical technology,” Cook added
DiamondBuzz
De Beers Group Sets Out Portfolio and Organisational Actions to Support Long-Term Value Creation
Company outlines strategic cost optimisation, portfolio streamlining and operational changes to strengthen resilience while positioning for long-term growth in the natural diamond industry.
De Beers Group is advancing delivery of its business streamlining by setting out a number of planned portfolio and organisational changes to ensure an efficient cost base that strengthens resilience in the near-term while enhancing future competitiveness and retaining optionality as industry conditions improve.
Since 2024, De Beers has been streamlining its business in line with its Origins strategy to reduce costs, divest non-core assets and prioritise investment in activities that create the most value. Significant progress has been made, with more than $100 million of annual overhead costs removed from the business, the sale or closure of a number of non-core assets and significant capital and cost reconfigurations to asset expansion projects.
Simultaneously, De Beers has reinvested in natural diamond category marketing to support the industry’s efforts to grow natural diamond demand, launching new large-scale campaigns and collaborating with key stakeholders across the value chain to foster industry-wide investment. Global consumer demand for natural diamond jewellery returned to growth in 2025, while natural diamond sales increased across US independent jewellers in 2025 and into Q1 2026, led by higher value diamonds and those promoted by De Beers’ Desert Diamonds marketing campaign.
On the supply side, global rough diamond production is now decreasing, with several producers closing mines during 2026. Whilst the increasing rarity of diamonds and the emerging signs of improvement in consumer demand are likely to support longer-term value creation, rough diamond trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the near-term due to cyclical and industry-specific factors.
Consistent with recent actions to improve business resilience, De Beers intends to pause production at the Venetia mine in South Africa for two years to reduce costs while also rephasing capital expenditure on its underground project. This will involve critical infrastructure investment to enhance the capacity and efficiency of the mine, with the intention to support future production growth as business and industry conditions improve.
De Beers is engaging with stakeholders in accordance with relevant requirements and the company’s values as it moves through this process, and will both support impacted employees and continue to invest in its community and Social and Labour Plan commitments.
This proposed action at Venetia Mine follows the decision earlier this year to pause the Tuzo Phase 3 expansion project at the Gahcho Kué Mine in Canada.
In parallel, De Beers plans to reconfigure its global operating model to refocus and prioritise resources on the core operational businesses and reduce its central corporate cost base.
Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, said:

“In line with our commitment to focus and streamline our business, we are making a number of changes to De Beers to ensure greater business resilience in the near-term, while supporting long-term value creation. We recognise the protracted challenging conditions as the diamond industry evolves, though we are encouraged by signs of consumer demand growth in the US and beyond, particularly in higher quality diamonds.
Global rough diamond supply is falling, bringing more support to the market. The changes we are making to our business are focused on underpinning our efficiency now and into the future, favourably positioning De Beers in its leadership role.”
De Beers Group will maintain current production levels through its other operations, and previous production guidance remains unchanged.
-
National News4 hours agoMCX Gold, Silver Futures For August Delivery Rise On Renewed Geopolitical Tensions
-
National News1 hour agoCosmos Diamonds Makes History With World’s First LGD Jewellery Launched Into Space
-
International News32 minutes agoPrecious Metals Bounce Back As Iran Ceasefire Hopes Rise, But Fed Rate Fears Loom: AUGMONT BULLION REPORT
-
International News5 hours agoLondon Diamond Bourse Announces Launch Of Its New Coloured Gemstone Course

