De Beers CEO warns lab-grown diamond market may be in a bubble
Al Cook says lab-grown diamonds may be in a bubble, while De Beers shutters Lightbox and warns Canadian supply could run dry by 2027.
Engagement-ring buyers are being squeezed between two very different diamond stories: lab-grown stones that may be losing their pricing mystique, and natural diamonds whose supply narrative is tightening just as retailers try to explain the difference more clearly. In Las Vegas, De Beers CEO Al Cook said the lab-grown market may be entering a bubble phase, a warning that lands hardest for couples comparing a lab-grown center stone with a natural diamond that still carries a premium tied to scarcity, provenance and resale perception.
De Beers has already acted on that shift. On May 8, 2025, the company said it intended to close Lightbox, its lab-grown diamond jewelry brand, and discuss the sale of certain assets and inventory. Lightbox launched in 2018 with transparent linear pricing of $800 per carat, a model that once looked like a clean answer to the lab-grown boom but now underscores how quickly the category has moved from novelty to pressure point.
The numbers behind De Beers tell the same story. In its 2025 preliminary results, the group reported sales of 20.946 million carats, down from 24.712 million carats in the prior period. Average realized price fell to $142 per carat from $152, while underlying EBITDA came in at negative $511 million. For bridal jewelers, that is more than a balance-sheet problem. It is a signal that the market still has not settled on how much consumers will pay for a diamond, or what, exactly, they believe they are buying.
Cook also pointed to Canada as a warning light. De Beers’ 2025 preliminary results listed Canada production at 2.210 million carats, and Cook said 2027 could be the last year for diamond mining there. If that timeline holds, it would remove an important source of natural stones just as lab-grown pricing, disclosure and consumer expectations are being recalibrated.
The regulatory backdrop matters too. The Federal Trade Commission’s Jewelry Guides require truthful, non-deceptive disclosures about jewelry claims and how diamonds are described, which keeps the lab-grown versus natural distinction at the center of the bridal conversation. In a market where terminology can shape perceived value, retailers are under pressure to be precise, not promotional.
De Beers’ own future is also in play. Anglo American has said a structured sale process for De Beers is under way, and bids or interest have been linked to Endiama, Angola’s state-owned mining company, and to Botswana. Cook, who became De Beers CEO in early 2023, is trying to defend natural diamonds at the same moment his company is retreating from lab-grown jewelry. That is not a contradiction so much as a reset: the bridal trade is heading into a period where supply, pricing and trust will have to be explained stone by stone.
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