Africa-Press – Botswana. In what is music to the government’s ears, De Beers has announced a seismic decision to close down its lab-grown diamond jewellery brand and focus on production of natural diamonds.
De Beers has reassured the Botswana Government of its commitment to production of natural diamonds after the mining conglomerate announced closure of its lab-grown diamond jewellery brand, Lightbox.
The company has stated that the impending closure lays down a marker to demonstrate its commitment to natural diamonds in the jewellery sector.
The CEO of De Beers, Al Cook, was in Botswana alongside parent company Anglo American’s CEO Duncan Wanblad to pay a courtesy call on President Duma Boko last week.
Standalone entity
The meeting provided a setting for Anglo to reaffirm its intention to spin off De Beers while the latter gave assurances of its eagerness to reallocate investment to enhancing natural diamond production and marketing as a standalone entity once the divestment is finalised.
Last Friday, De Beers released a statement positioning natural diamonds as its key focus.
“As we move towards becoming a standalone company, we continue to optimise our business, reduce costs and build a focused De Beers that is positioned for profitable growth,” Cook said in the statement.
Growing differentiation
“The persistently declining value of lab-grown diamonds in jewellery underscores the growing differentiation between these factory-made products and natural diamonds. Lightbox has helped to highlight the fundamental differences in value between these two categories.
“Global competition continues to intensify with more low-cost lab-grown diamond production from China. In the US, supermarkets are driving down lab-grown diamond jewellery prices.
“Overall, we expect both the cost and price of lab-grown diamonds to fall further in the jewellery sector. The planned closure of Lightbox reflects our commitment to natural diamonds.”
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
