De Beers to shut down its lab-grown diamond jewellery brand Lightbox

(Reuters) - De Beers plans to shut down its lab-grown diamond jewellery brand, Lightbox, and focus on natural diamonds, it said on Thursday, as the company battles weak diamond prices due to low demand and tariff uncertainties.

"As part of the closure process, De Beers is discussing the sale of certain assets, including inventory, with potential buyers," the company said.

De Beers began selling synthetic stones for jewellery in September 2018, reversing a decades-old policy of selling them for industrial use only.

In June last year, it said it would stop producing lab-grown diamonds for the Lightbox brand to focus on natural diamonds, which fetch much higher prices.

De Beers, owned by miner Anglo American, has been looking to streamline its business and reduce costs as it moves towards becoming a standalone company.

Anglo American is looking to exit the diamond business by either selling or listing 137-year old De Beers as part of a broader restructuring of the London-listed miner.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Clara Denina in London; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)