Major jewelry player pulls the plug on distressed brand

The luxury jewelry space has always been about tradition, scarcity, and sparkle. But in recent years, one major player tried to break that mold.

It launched something new — something that challenged long-held beliefs about what makes a diamond valuable.

Related: Birkin bag maker faces major problem

At first, it looked like a bold move that could disrupt the entire industry. The pricing was transparent, the positioning was fresh, and the market seemed ready for change.

💵💰Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter💰💵

But now, less than a decade later, that experiment is coming to an end.

De Beers shuts down struggling jewelry brand

De Beers is shutting down Lightbox, its moonshot jewelry brand that bet big on factory-made diamonds. What started as a fresh take on sparkle is ending with a hard pivot back to tradition.

Launched in 2018, Lightbox was De Beers’ attempt to draw a bold line between natural diamonds and their lab-made counterparts. The concept? Keep it simple: $800 per carat, no smoke, no mirrors.

But the shine didn’t last. Lab-grown prices tanked — plummeting up to 90% at wholesale — and the space got overrun with cheap stones from China and discount bins at U.S. supermarkets.

Related: Top luxury fashion brands just made a quiet change

“Lightbox has helped to highlight the fundamental differences in value between these two categories,” said De Beers CEO Al Cook. “We expect both the cost and price of lab-grown diamonds to fall further in the jewellery sector.”

Translation? De Beers is out. And it’s reportedly looking to offload what’s left of Lightbox — inventory, assets, and all.

De Beers pivots to tech with synthetic diamond play

The decision to wind down Lightbox is a key piece of De Beers’ “Origins Strategy,” a plan aimed at trimming the fat and leaning into what works: rare, high-margin natural diamonds.

But synthetic diamonds aren’t going away. They’re just moving from jewelry counters to circuit boards. De Beers’ Element Six division, which used to supply Lightbox, will now go all in on industrial and tech applications, such as semiconductors and quantum tech.

The company plans to ramp up production at its sleek Oregon facility and team up with a global roster of innovators in high-growth sectors. With 70+ years of experience, Element Six wants to turn diamonds into something more powerful than a status symbol.

In De Beers’ view, the future of man-made diamonds isn’t about sparkle. It’s about speed, precision, and cutting-edge tech. And if you ask them, the real bling is now in the labs.

With lab-grown stones losing their shine in the jewelry case, De Beers is betting their next big value play will be in high-tech labs — not on ring fingers.

Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast

#Major #jewelry #player #pulls #plug #distressed #brand