Lab-Made Diamonds for Less: Why De Beers’s Plan Worries Rivals – by Elizabeth Burden and Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – September 4, 2018)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

De Beers hasn’t even opened its first synthetic diamond store, but its looming entry into the market for man-made gems has already shaken the industry.

The unit of Anglo American Plc said three months ago that it plans to sell lab-grown diamonds at a fraction of the going rate, undercutting rivals like Chatham Created Gems Inc. and Diamond Foundry Inc. That’s already cut the price of man-made gems, furthering De Beers’s aim of increasing the premium paid for the diamonds it mines in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada.

De Beers will target younger consumers with its lab diamonds, sold under the Lightbox name for about $800 a carat. That’s a fifth of the price of existing man-made stones and one-tenth of the cost of buying a similar natural gem.

While De Beers says its strategy will eliminate customer confusion over man-made diamonds and their natural counterparts, some producers are crying foul. The lab-grown industry has filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, accusing De Beers of price dumping and predatory pricing.

“De Beers aren’t stupid,” said Chatham Chief Executive Officer Tom Chatham, who filed the complaint. “They know how to grow diamonds, but this equipment is not cheap. They are selling below cost.”

For the rest of this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-04/lab-made-diamonds-for-less-why-de-beers-s-plan-worries-rivals