In the fourth quarter, Lightbox dropped the price of its standard lab-grown diamonds (G-J color and VS clarity) from $800 per carat to $600 per carat.
Its “Finest” range was reduced to $1,000 per carat, down from $1,500 per carat. Finest are Lightbox’s top-quality diamonds, colorless (D-F) and VVS clarity.
Lightbox also has a line of faint color (K-M), SI clarity diamonds it sells as “Basics” for $600 per carat. It did not lower prices on those goods.
The price trial took place in the fourth quarter and ended in January, the brand confirmed.
Lightbox said it will continue to test lower prices with other promotions as it evaluates the results of the fourth-quarter test to decide on a new, permanent price structure for its lab-grown diamonds.
“Our clear objective, from the beginning, has been to offer our lab-grown diamonds at a fair and reasonable price,” Lightbox CEO Antoine Borde said in a statement to National Jeweler. “To remain competitive in a rapidly changing landscape and pass our cost efficiencies onto consumers, we have been conducting research to align on the best price for the brand.”
Consumers can anticipate new prices from the company in the coming months, he said.
Lightbox’s fourth-quarter price test gained attention last week after De Beers parent company Anglo American called it out in its preliminary financial results for 2023.
In the results, the company noted that lab-grown diamonds took market share from natural diamonds last year but said it doesn’t expect that trend to continue as the value of man-made diamonds keeps falling.
“After strong demand in 2021 and 2022, global rough diamond demand fell significantly in 2023. With polished diamond inventories rising and increases in inflation and interest rates, jewelry retailers took a cautious approach to purchasing new stock,” Anglo American said.
“U.S. consumer demand for natural diamonds was impacted by macro-economic challenges as well as rising supply of lab-grown diamonds.”
The company continued, “However, while sales of lab-grown diamonds to consumers increased, wholesale lab-grown prices continued to fall sharply … these price declines are expected to lead to further substantial reductions in retail prices (with De Beers’ Lightbox brand testing significantly lower prices for its products).
“This will further reinforce consumers’ understanding of the fundamental differences between lab-grown and natural diamond jewelry.”
De Beers’ total sales in 2023 fell 35 percent year-over-year to $4.3 billion. Rough diamond sales were down 37 percent to $3.63 billion, as previously reported.
Anglo American wrote down the value of De Beers by $1.6 billion.
Read More: Lightbox ‘Significantly’ Lowered Its Prices in Q4