De Beers to Sell Diamonds Made in a Lab for First Time

The world’s largest diamond-mining company, De Beers, is to sell lab-made diamonds for the first time in its 130-year history. In a statement released Tuesday morning, De Beers said it will market the lab-grown diamonds—which are much cheaper than mined diamonds—in a new fashion line called Lightbox. “Lightbox will transform the lab-grown diamond sector by offering consumers a lab-grown product they have told us they want but aren’t getting: affordable fashion jewellery that may not be forever, but is perfect for right now,“ said CEO Bruce Cleaver. “Our extensive research tells us this is how consumers regard lab-grown diamonds—as a fun, pretty product that shouldn’t cost that much—so we see an opportunity here that’s been missed by lab-grown diamond producers.” Man-made diamonds make up a small part of the $80 billion global market, according to Bloomberg, but demand is increasing.