Lightbox: The Future is Ethical
November 23, 23
Lightbox started life back in May 2018 with lab grown diamonds billed as "a fun, pretty product that shouldn't cost that much".
It's come a long way since then. Earlier this year it (briefly) tried out a range of lab grown engagement rings (2ct round colorless/VVS+ for $5,000).
And now it's hooked up with a couple of young, trendy, ethical jewelers as it heads off in a different direction. Design collaborations.
I'm not arguing that what Lightbox does today, others will necessarily do tomorrow.
But Lightbox is very much a part of the De Beers family, so it's fair to say it's inherited some of the "A Diamond Is Forever" sparkle when it comes to marketing.
De Beers sent shockwaves through the industry when it announced it would start manufacturing lab growns and was investing $94m in a factory in the US.
Over time it launched premium and budget ranges in addition to its primary offering. It introduced grading reports for lab growns. It started selling bigger and more expensive stones, loose stones, stones in bricks and mortar stores as well as online.
And then it dipped a very tentative toe into the bridal market. Three months later it quickly undipped that toe, saying the experience had reinforced its belief that lab grown engagement rings were "unsustainable" as a commercial proposition.
Which brings us to today, and its newly-announced collaborations with Roseate and with The Future Rocks.
Both companies are proud of their ethical credentials. Roseate was founded in May of this year by former Tiffany & Co. execs who have "an intimate knowledge of the industry's sourcing and production - including its shortcomings when it comes to sustainability".
It specializes in South Seas and Tahitian pearls and is selling a range of four Light Wand Pendants, each set with a 1/3-ct and a 1/10-ct lab grown (G-J / VS+) and white mother of pearl for $1,600.
They're marketed as "personal amulets—symbols of self-discovery that connect you to Earth and oceans, humanity, and your inner strength".
Lightbox and Roseate are donating 20 per cent of the purchase price to Billion Oyster Project, restoring oyster reefs in New York Harbor.
The Future Rocks, founded two years ago in Hong Kong, insists on its website that it isn't selling sustainability, it's implementing it.
"We're setting the stage for a new generation of creative and conscious, future-forward jewelry designers with innovative practices," it says, as it embraces social responsibility, and uses recycled metals in its jewelry, predominantly from discarded electronic devices.
The Future Rocks is launching its eight-piece Joy Collection of rings, earrings and necklaces next month, featuring white, blush pink, and pale blue Lightbox diamonds, priced at $350 to $1,100.
Any new technology, lab growns included, needs to find its way through uncharted territory. Trials, tribulations, stumbles and false start are all part of that.
Lightbox said in September, when it stopped selling lab grown engagement rings, that it would "continue to focus on where it sees the most promising future opportunities in the sector".
Let's see how promising the ethical approach proves to be.
Have a fabulous weekend.