According to De Beers chief financial officer Sarah Kuijlaars, retail prices of lab-grown diamonds are falling slower than wholesale prices and frequently linger at “unsustainable” levels.
The executive’s remarks follow the debut of a trial of engagement rings by De Beers‘ synthetics brand, Lightbox, with the stated goal of offering “accessible” costs.
“It’s very good to see that the wholesale price is really coming down — halving, halving, and halving again,” Kuijlaars said in an interview Thursday. “That’s good. But on the retail side, things are a little more complicated, and the question is, “How do we ensure that consumers make informed choices in the store?”
She underlined Lightbox‘s statement that its debut into the bridal business was a response to shops misleading consumers about man-made stones.