What are your thoughts and review on Lightbox.com Diamond?

#2
Hi!

In my personal opinion it is not a diamond. It's a laboratory grown product, resembling a diamond.

Their website puts it down quite nicely:

https://lightboxjewelry.com/pages/our-pricing

"But we can make laboratory-grown diamonds every day of the week. Among the finest you can find. In the color or size we choose. So our pricing is easy, as transparent as our stones."

and

"The Price
The math is simple. We add the price of the total carat of the stones used, based purely on size, to the setting price, based purely on precious metal, silver or gold. So, as an example, any half-carat pendant in silver that catches your eye will always be $500. In pink or blue or white."

I find, it lacks any emotion. It's like buying potatoes by the pound.

That said, looking at how this lady stacks the rings -> https://lightboxjewelry.com/collections/rings

It looks "fresh", "cool" - it's an eye catcher and looks great in my opinion.

But then again, the stones and settings are what they are - I wouldn't buy them unless specifically instructed to.

Kind regards,
Oliver
 
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#3
silly.hilly said:
Hi,

I am thinking to buy from Lightbox.com but couldn't find much reviews online. Do you guys have any experience with them? What is your thoughts on their diamond?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

There was a thread about a year ago on the topic:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/debeers-to-sell-lab-created-diamonds.988732/

It contains links to a long thread on the jewelry site Pricescope which contains thoughts from jewelers and some reviews:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/de-beers-undercuts-the-man-made-diamond-price.241185/

From what I've read the reviews have been quite positive, although many object to the cheap cardboard box in which the jewelry arrives. The diamonds aren't top-of-the-line dazzlers but they're very good middle quality. The settings leave something to be desired but some have been buying the jewelry to reset the stones into better quality settings.
 
#4
I don't think there is anything wrong with the stones themselves as long as you understand what you are getting for your money. However, they overcharge for their settings. $200 for 10k gold is a colossal ripoff. For reference, a four prong basket setting in 14k gold is $175 at Brian Gavin Diamonds. A four prong basket setting in 18k gold is $180 at Blue Nile.
 
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#5
the_black_tie_diyer said:
Hi!

In my personal opinion it is not a diamond. It's a laboratory grown product, resembling a diamond.

Their website puts it down quite nicely:

https://lightboxjewelry.com/pages/our-pricing

"But we can make laboratory-grown diamonds every day of the week. Among the finest you can find. In the color or size we choose. So our pricing is easy, as transparent as our stones."

and

"The Price
The math is simple. We add the price of the total carat of the stones used, based purely on size, to the setting price, based purely on precious metal, silver or gold. So, as an example, any half-carat pendant in silver that catches your eye will always be $500. In pink or blue or white."

I find, it lacks any emotion. It's like buying potatoes by the pound.

That said, looking at how this lady stacks the rings -> https://lightboxjewelry.com/collections/rings

It looks "fresh", "cool" - it's an eye catcher and looks great in my opinion.

But then again, the stones and settings are what they are - I wouldn't buy them unless specifically instructed to.

Kind regards,
Oliver
Click to expand...
It is a diamond though. It doesn’t resemble a diamond, lab grown diamonds are chemically identical to mined diamonds. I’m a jeweler and a gemologist and this isn’t any different than buying any other off the rack jewelry, mined or lab grown. Just some background info on lightbox, they’re owned by Debeers who really spoke out strongly against lab grown stones for a long time before developing the if you can’t beat them join them stance that has brought us this line. So the only reason people have this high regard for earth mined diamonds is because of Debeers marketing which has been so successful, that people think earth mined diamonds are rare. They actually have to be very careful of not contradicting their previous marketing campaigns in selling their lab grown stones which is why everything is so carefully worded.
 
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#6
A very great, good morning to you. :smile: Your are totally right @Clifmar - that's why I wrote in my personal opinion/ perception of this matter. :flowers:

I follow the market quite a bit, and I found it interesting that - within a year - De Beers went from a categorial no on the issue of lab grown diamonds to a "hell yes".

Then again, it's no real surprise. It's about market shares. They see a growing group/ maybe even generation(s) of people to follow who are the perfect customers for lab grown diamonds in future so they want their share of that market. At least it's what their analysts tell them. ;)

To me this is not about the facts that you lined out perfectly well, it's about emotion. :flowers:

It's like if Rolex would suddenly announce a stainless steel Day-Date (President).

It would be a disruption, and while that might perfectly fit with the market and be a total success story - it's still not the same (to me).

Another comparison would be the Rainbow models Rolex offers. I think it would greatly take away from them, if the diamonds used were lab grown/ tampered (for color) with.

And on another/ the next level, Rolex gives nothing to watch connoisseurs who are into "Haute Horologie". The workmanship, attention to detail, amount of true hand finishing ... Like I said, purely emotion and personal perception.

So in short, the way lab grown diamonds are produced and marketed, they do nothing for me, and if asked for my opinion on them - that's exactly it. ;)

Kind regards,
Oliver
 
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#8
the_black_tie_diyer said:
A very great, good morning to you. :smile: Your are totally right @Clifmar - that's why I wrote in my personal opinion/ perception of this matter. :flowers:

I follow the market quite a bit, and I found it interesting that - within a year - De Beers went from a categorial no on the issue of lab grown diamonds to a "hell yes".

Then again, it's no real surprise. It's about market shares. They see a growing group/ maybe even generation(s) of people to follow who are the perfect customers for lab grown diamonds in future so they want their share of that market. At least it's what their analysts tell them. ;)

To me this is not about the facts that you lined out perfectly well, it's about emotion. :flowers:

It's like if Rolex would suddenly announce a stainless steel Day-Date (President).

It would be a disruption, and while that might perfectly fit with the market and be a total success story - it's still not the same (to me).

Another comparison would be the Rainbow models Rolex offers. I think it would greatly take away from them, if the diamonds used were lab grown/ tampered (for color) with.

And on another/ the next level, Rolex gives nothing to watch connoisseurs who are into "Haute Horologie". The workmanship, attention to detail, amount of true hand finishing ... Like I said, purely emotion and personal perception.

So in short, the way lab grown diamonds are produced and marketed, they do nothing for me, and if asked for my opinion on them - that's exactly it. ;)

Kind regards,
Oliver
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Thank you for the clarification!! I wanted to make sure OP understood lab diamonds are chemically the same as mined diamonds because I know sometimes when people say they don’t think they’re the same it gets confusing.
 
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#9
Canturi lover said:
......not true. I love the fact that the earth produced these wonderful gems and no two are exactly alike.
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I certainly have an appreciation for that too, what I meant was the reason think lab mined stones are inferior is because of debeers marketing. I should have been more clear. I think it came across pretty cynical and that’s not what I intended :sad:
 
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#10
The artificially created scarcity of mined diamonds really really turns me off. And, unless they are mined in Canada, I will never be convinced a diamond I would consider buying would be "ethical" These are of course my opinions, and to each their own.

This is why I enjoy my Moissanites. Pretty, sparkly and not $$$$$ All I can say is this works for me.

I have a mid-5 figure house repair/improvement issue looming, and I would feel terrible if I had spent that on a diamond.
 
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#12
I know people who've bought them then sent them off to jewellers to be re-set in gold settings instead. So far, I haven't heard any complaints from them.

As for what I think of lab diamonds? I prefer them over the heavy pollution that mining contributes. And because I know that ethically mined certificates can be falsified and/or bought. It's not just the mining that's harmful - a lot of diamond cutters in mining countries suffer from respiratory issues later in life after a lifetime of cutting diamonds with no safety or ethical oversight. And that's one of the lines I choose to draw personally as a consumer (also stubborn refusal to fall for DeBeers' advertising).

Lab diamonds are also chemically identical to diamonds, that's why they HAVE to be marked as lab diamonds by the labs that produce them - including lightbox; because otherwise, there's no way of telling a mined or lab diamond apart strictly on the stone and chemical properties themselves. They are NOT simulants as implied by other posters - eg. Moissanite, CZ etc.
 
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#13
eunaddict said:
It's not just the mining that's harmful - a lot of diamond cutters in mining countries suffer from respiratory issues later in life after a lifetime of cutting diamonds with no safety or ethical oversight. And that's one of the lines I choose to draw personally as a consumer (also stubborn refusal to fall for DeBeers' advertising).
Click to expand...

I am not anti-lab diamond, but lab diamonds are very often cut at the same facilities as mined diamonds. The lab diamond industry has done a great job of touting their product as being more ethical and environmentally friendly, just as the mined diamond industry has done regarding their supply and demand, etc. Personally, I think it is too soon to say with any degree of certainty the environmental and ethical benefits of lab diamonds over mined.
 
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#14
FunBagz said:
I am not anti-lab diamond, but lab diamonds are very often cut at the same facilities as mined diamonds. The lab diamond industry has done a great job of touting their product as being more ethical and environmentally friendly, just as the mined diamond industry has done regarding their supply and demand, etc. Personally, I think it is too soon to say with any degree of certainty the environmental and ethical benefits of lab diamonds over mined.
Click to expand...

I myself would distinguish ethical from environmental - as real diamonds, they probably have the same health implications to the cutters as do mined. In my mind, 'ethical' is another thing.
 
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