Why De Beers’ Decision To Make Lab Grown Diamonds Is A Genius Move

For years the executive teams at De Beers have refused to acknowledge the growing competition of man-made synthentic diamonds. So when they announced their own synthentic diamond brand called Lightbox, most media were hasty to describe it as a defeat.

Yet De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver describes Lightbox as “affordable fashion jewelry that may not be forever, but is perfect for right now.” While brands like MiaDonna try to position man-made diamonds as competitive to natural diamonds, Lightbox brilliantly describes them as nothing more than fashion jewelry and incomparable to the real thing.

So, how do you tackle the disruptive threat of lab-grown diamonds if you are the world’s largest diamond miner? Embrace the disruption and reposition its story to be exactly what you want it to be. That is genius.