How De Beers Shaped - and Still Controls - the Diamond Market

For over a hundred years, the diamond industry has not been driven by real market demand. Instead, it has been carefully controlled, with De Beers at the center of this complex system.

De Beers controls the global diamond supply. They also created one of the strongest marketing campaigns ever. This has changed how we think about diamonds. It affects how much we pay for them and what we believe they are worth.

In this post, we lay out the facts so that you, the buyer, can make choices grounded in clarity, not illusion. Just what every diamond buyer deserves to know.

A Brief History of the De Beers Monopoly

De Beers was founded in 1888 and quickly grew into a global powerhouse. At its peak, the company controlled almost 90% of the world’s rough diamond supply. It did this through a group called the Central Selling Organisation (CSO).

Here’s how the manipulation worked:

• Supply Limitation: De Beers stockpiled diamonds, releasing only a limited amount to keep prices artificially high.
  
• Exclusive Access: Only a select few “sightholders” could purchase rough stones and only at De Beers’ set prices.
  
• Manufactured Scarcity: Diamonds aren’t rare, but De Beers made them feel rare by limiting availability.

This wasn’t just supply control. It was narrative control.

 

“A Diamond Is Forever” - The Most Effective Psychological Campaign in Luxury

In 1947, De Beers coined the phrase “A Diamond Is Forever.” It wasn’t just a slogan. It was an attempt to engineer desire, and it worked.

This campaign:

• Positioned diamonds as the only acceptable engagement ring.
• Shamed men who spent “too little.”
• Convinced entire generations that diamonds equated to love, class, and permanence.

It tapped directly into status anxiety, our fear of appearing inadequate or less-than in the eyes of others. Suddenly, buying a diamond wasn’t just about jewelry. It was about proving your worth.

The result? Mass cultural pressure to spend, even when the product’s value was arbitrarily controlled.

 The Rise of Lab Diamonds and the Threat to De Beers’ Power

Lab-grown diamonds entered the market with quiet disruption. By the 2010s, they offered buyers a great choice. These stones looked and acted like mined diamonds. They had lower prices, less environmental harm, and clear pricing.

Lab diamonds gave customers:

• Transparent pricing
• Ethical sourcing
• Significant cost savings

This level of transparency threatened the natural diamond business model. This was especially true for De Beers. The company built its empire on hidden information and market tricks.

Suddenly:

• Customers could compare carat prices across lab diamonds with ease.
• They could understand cost vs markup in a way that’s rarely possible with mined stones.
• They began questioning what they were really paying for.

Lightbox: A Controlled Experiment Disguised as Progress

In 2018, De Beers launched Lightbox, its lab-grown diamond brand. The stones were marketed as “fun,” not “forever,” and capped at $800 per carat regardless of size or quality.

This was not a vote of confidence in lab diamonds. It was a containment strategy.

De Beers never allowed Lightbox diamonds to be certified by third parties. They never offered engagement-style cuts. They pushed the idea that lab diamonds were “fashion” not emotional or significant.

In 2025, Lightbox was shut down. Some took this as a failure of lab-grown diamonds. But another reading is this: De Beers never wanted it to succeed. They wanted control.

By pulling out, they can now point and say, “See? Even we didn’t believe in them.”

It’s not market failure. It’s message control.

Natural Diamonds vs Lab-Grown: What You’re Actually Buying

Here’s the hard truth: both natural and lab diamonds depreciate the moment you buy them.

The idea that "lab diamonds lack value" stems from an outdated belief that De Beers has maintained for years.

But in reality, almost no jewelry holds value unless it’s:

• Signed by a major house (e.g. Cartier)
• An antique
• Or an investment-grade loose stone

For most buyers, the idea that “natural diamonds are a better investment” is simply false.

 

What This Means for You

The diamond industry is changing, but De Beers still wants to hold the map.

If you’re buying a diamond today, understand this:

• You’re not buying an asset. You’re buying symbolism.
• You’re not buying “forever.” You’re buying a feeling of love, power, status, or freedom.
• You deserve to know how that narrative was built so you can choose to follow it, or not.
  

 

At Susan Blake Jewelry, we believe diamonds are for self-expression, not social performance. Whether you choose natural or lab-grown, you deserve honesty not status games.

Shop our lab diamond collection here.