Steve Coe to Exit Role as Lightbox CEO

RAPAPORT... Steve Coe, CEO of De Beers lab-grown diamond jewelry brand Lightbox, will step down after running the business since its inception.Coe, who started at Lightbox in 2017 following a 21-year tenure at De Beers' synthetic diamond-manufacturing unit, Element Six, will leave the company in July, David Johnson, head of strategic communications for De Beers, confirmed to Rapaport News Monday."After successfully building Lightbox from the initial concept into an established business, Coe has decided to step down as Lightbox CEO," Johnson explained. "We'll announce a successor in due course."De Beers launched Lightbox in 2018 as a lower-cost fashion alternative to the synthetic-diamond jewelry already in the market. The brand sells its stones for a blanket price of $800 per carat. In a recent interview with Rapaport News, Coe said the company was currently working on adding colors such as yellows and greens to its lab-grown range, and increasing the size of its stones to more than two carats. It will also continue to roll Lightbox jewelry out to more retail stores throughout North America and may consider a stand-alone brand store in the future, he added.Image: Steve Coe. (De Beers)