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posted by martyb on Thursday May 31 2018, @06:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the if-you-can't-beat-'em... dept.

De Beers admits defeat over man-made diamonds

The world's largest diamond miner is doing the unthinkable: Selling stones produced in a laboratory. De Beers launched a new jewelry brand on Tuesday that features synthetic diamonds, a major reversal for a company that had implored consumers to stick with "real" stones.

The brand, called Lightbox, will offer synthetic diamonds at a fraction of the price it charges for stones pulled out of the earth. De Beers framed the move as a response to consumer demands. "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 jewelry that may not be forever, but is perfect for right now," said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver.

[...] De Beers had been an outspoken critic of synthetic diamonds. Company executives vowed never to sell artificial stones, and it participated in the diamond industry's "real is rare" campaign. It even developed a machine that spots lab-grown stones.

Also at Bloomberg and TechCrunch.


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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:58PM

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:58PM (#686763) Homepage
    And if I'm going to make the joke, I should at least give credit to my inspiration: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tSNsOJ4-VwU
    --
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