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Lab-GrownOct 07, 2020
De Beers’ Lab-Grown Diamond Brand Moves Into 28 More Stores
Lightbox now will be sold throughout the Midwest, as well as in California, New York and Canada.
Three pairs of earrings set with pink, blue and white lab-grown diamonds from Lightbox. The De Beers-owned brand is expanding into 28 more brick-and-mortar stores, mainly in the Midwest.
New York—A year after its launch into brick-and-mortar stores, De Beers Group’s lab-grown diamond brand is expanding into 28 more stores owned by 10 different jewelers.
Lightbox announced the expansion of its wholesale distribution network on Friday, one that will bring the brand’s retail footprint to almost 90 stores in the United States and Canada.
Nineteen of the 28 stores being added are spread out among four Midwest jewelers: Riddle’s Jewelry, the Diamond Cellar, Harris Jewelers, and Wisconsin’s The Jewelry Center.
Six stores in Northern California will carry Lightbox: four DeVons Jewelers, as well as Geoffrey’s Diamonds and Goldsmith, and Padis Jewelers, whose owners also operate the first and only Forevermark boutique in the U.S.
The other three stores that will begin selling the lab-grown diamond brand are Bailey’s Fine Jewelry in North Carolina, the Reeds Jewelers store in Niagara Falls, New York (owned by Amherst, New York-based Reeds/Jenss) and IJL in Canada.
“We are excited to expand our wholesale offering in the U.S. and Canada through independent retail, as it has been a key part of our strategy from the beginning,” said Nick Smart, the brand’s commercial director.
“These stores have developed strong local connections with their communities, and we very much want to be a part of that.”
When asked about additional wholesale expansion, Lightbox said it is “actively looking to grow” and is in discussions with more jewelers for possible spring 2021 launches.
RELATED CONTENT—To Sell or Not To Sell: That’s the Lab-Grown Question
De Beers launched Lightbox in May 2018, starting with online-only sales direct to consumers.
In October 2019, Lightbox’s wholesale trial run started with Wilmington, North Carolina-based Reeds Jewelers Inc. and Bloomingdale’s.
Today, the lab-grown diamond brand is in a total of 87 stores: the 28 stores mentioned above, as well as 56 Reeds stores and three Bloomingdale’s locations, including the flagship store on 59th Street in New York City.
RELATED CONTENT: Consumers Saw Lightbox. Here’s What They Wanted To Know.
Currently, De Beers grows the diamonds it uses for Lightbox jewelry at the Element Six facility in the United Kingdom while its U.S. factory is under construction.
That facility, located in the Portland, Oregon suburb of Gresham, is slated to open this fall, and is expected to produce 200,000 carats of polished diamonds per year.
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