LONDON — De Beers Group, which rocked the industry when it launched its Lightbox jewelry made from lab-grown diamonds, is shutting the business.

The diamond miner and jeweler said it planned to shut Lightbox jewelry due to the plummeting prices and mass distribution of lab-grown rocks, and its “renewed commitment to natural diamonds.”

As part of the closure, De Beers Group said it is discussing the sale of certain assets, including inventory, and said it has potential buyers in the pipeline.  

De Beers launched Lightbox in 2018, just as lab-grown diamond jewelry was rising in popularity. Lab-grown diamonds were perceived to be an “ethical” alternative to mined diamonds, with a transparent supply chain and energy-efficient manufacturing processes that didn’t require digging mines.

They became popular among red carpet celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio who was among the early investors in The Diamond Foundry. The San Francisco-based company uses high-end technology to produce jewelry under the Vrai brand name.

While lab-grown diamonds remain popular with some consumers, their value has declined considerably, with detractors comparing the synthetic rocks to pieces of Lego due to their price, ubiquity and democratic appeal.

De Beers said Lightbox was launched with transparent linear pricing of $800 per carat, but since then lab-grown diamond prices have fallen 90 percent at wholesale, “tracking closer to a cost-plus model as they have diverged from natural diamond prices.”

The diamond giant added that the decline in lab-grown diamond values in the jewelry sector underpins its core belief in “rare, high-value, natural diamond jewelry as a separate category from low-cost, mass-produced lab-grown diamond jewelry.” 

Al Cook, chief executive officer of De Beers Group, said: “As we move toward becoming a stand-alone company, we continue to optimize our business, reduce costs and build a focused De Beers that is positioned for profitable growth,” he said.  

Cook added: “The persistently declining value of lab-grown diamonds in jewelry underscores the growing differentiation between these factory-made products and natural diamonds, while global competition continues to intensify with more low-cost lab-grown diamond production from China.”

China isn’t the only country that sees lab-grown diamonds as a mass product. “In the U.S., supermarkets are driving down lab-grown diamond jewelry prices,” Cook said. “Overall, we expect both the cost and price of lab-grown diamonds to fall further in the jewellery sector.”  

The company added that the proposed closure of the business reflects “a key executional milestone” in De Beers Group’s Origins Strategy, which was set out in May 2024, to focus on high-return activities and streamline the business.

The closure will enable De Beers Group “to reallocate investment to initiatives focused on reinvigorating desire for natural diamonds through category marketing.”

De Beers said it 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.

By contrast, Element Six, De Beers Group’s subsidiary that previously produced lab-grown stones for Lightbox, will maintain its exclusive focus on creating synthetic diamonds for industrial solutions.

Cook said: “We are excited at the growing commercial potential for synthetic diamonds in the technology and industrial space.”

The company added that Element Six is “well-positioned to seize the rapidly growing potential for synthetic diamond applications across a range of future-facing technologies and applications.”

It added that by centralizing CVD [chemical vapor deposition] synthetic diamond production at its state-of-the-art facility in Oregon, U.S., “Element Six will work with its growing global network of partners to accelerate cutting-edge technologies for high growth industries, such as semiconductors and quantum technologies.”

As reported, De Beers Group parent Anglo American is planning to sell or spin off De Beers as part of an effort to simplify its portfolio, create value for shareholders and separate out noncore businesses.

Anglo American, which is quoted on the London Stock Exchange, has said De Beers will be divested or demerged “to improve strategic flexibility,” both for the diamond company and for Anglo American.

Reuters reported earlier this year that Anglo’s plans to divest De Beers “would be substantively complete” by the end of 2025.

The agency quoted Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad as saying that De Beers will be “fully set up as a stand-alone business to make sure that it’s not going to be impacting as a drag in any way, shape or form on the [wider] business.”