De Beers’ Lightbox brand is adding more lab-grown 1 ct. solitaires, which go for $800 a ct., to its site—but in a twist, they are being sold with piercings.
This week, the created-diamond brand debuted three new products—a 0.5 ct. pierced solitaire pendant, a 1 ct. pierced solitaire pendant,and a pair of 1 ct. t.w. piercedsolitaire earrings. The three items have been “laser drilled so they can be suspended on a tiny ring,” says chief marketing officer Sally Morrison.
She admits the drill holes might affect clarity, but that is less of a concern for Lightbox, which doesn’t sell its diamonds with grading reports.
“I have seen it done with natural diamonds, but it is rarely done and I imagine one of the reasons it’s rarely done is you create a flaw in it when you drill through the material,” she says. “It’s something you could do more easily with a product that is not certed. With natural graded material it would probably change the grade.”
She says that the piercing produces a different, “more lively” look.
“It has movement,” she says. “It’s a quite modern way of presenting jewelry. It’s very simple, very alive. It’s a modern take on a solitaire necklace. People seem to like it, and we will probably make more.”
