Lightbox has a countdown

[mojoriley]

So I actually ordered two of the 1 carat pierced pendants and they also sent me 1/2 carats originally. The 1st rep I spoke with refused to believe they were the wrong size when I called. I was very patient but really irritated to be honest, and I finally said, "Listen, I've lost patience with this conversation. I understand that you don't believe my account of things here, but I can assure you that the stones I am looking at right now ARE NOT 1 carat. I have them sitting next to other 1 carat diamonds that I own and they are not even CLOSE."

I finally received the correct ones today. The stones look nice, but the design of the pendant stinks, frankly. They refuse to sit facing forward on the chest, so they have pretty much zero impact aesthetically.

I'm not sure if I should bother talking to a local jeweler about the general quality of the stones and whether or not they can be reset into another design. Anyone have any idea how much it might cost to do that? I would be happy to mail them out as well if I could get them back within the return period.

I'm also disappointed that Lightbox is clearly sitting on a stockpile of the 1 carats since they were able to send them right out right away when they realized they originally sent the wrong ones.

 

[MamaBee]

So I actually ordered two of the 1 carat pierced pendants and they also sent me 1/2 carats originally. The 1st rep I spoke with refused to believe they were the wrong size when I called. I was very patient but really irritated to be honest, and I finally said, "Listen, I've lost patience with this conversation. I understand that you don't believe my account of things here, but I can assure you that the stones I am looking at right now ARE NOT 1 carat. I have them sitting next to other 1 carat diamonds that I own and they are not even CLOSE."

I finally received the correct ones today. The stones look nice, but the design of the pendant stinks, frankly. They refuse to sit facing forward on the chest, so they have pretty much zero impact aesthetically.

I'm not sure if I should bother talking to a local jeweler about the general quality of the stones and whether or not they can be reset into another design. Anyone have any idea how much it might cost to do that? I would be happy to mail them out as well if I could get them back within the return period.

I'm also disappointed that Lightbox is clearly sitting on a stockpile of the 1 carats since they were able to send them right out right away when they realized they originally sent the wrong ones.

That’s crazy....I hate the game they’re playing...

 

[DoeEyes]

Ugh, they really suck. Mine was delivered this morning but I won't be able to take it in to a jeweler until tomorrow at the earliest to see about covering the hole with a prong. I might not even take it to a jeweler if it looks way too big to me. I'll try to share some pictures tonight but I'm going to be out late so no promises.

 

[sd_flp]

I'm not surprised DeBeers is sitting on a stockpile of 1ct. lab diamonds, considering they do this with their own stock of natural diamonds.

I think I read this on Reddit (or maybe someone discussed it on this thread), but it's very obvious that DeBeers is trying to sell these lab diamonds as costume jewelry, just due to the shoddy craftsmanship and sterling silver settings. They don't want to market these as fine jewelry because that would devalue their own diamonds.

It was mentioned that more one carat diamonds will be available this upcoming fall, but with all the games that Lightbox has been playing up until this point (re: making their 3/4-1 carats scarce, piercing holes in the stones, etc), I'm pretty turned off with buying anything from them unless it's at an extreme discount. Personally I'm hoping that after the 1 carats become more ubiquitous, several more competitors will provide better service and offer lab diamonds at various color grades, and superior cuts...all at a better price point than what we are seeing at the moment. I'd rather give them my money than DeBeers now.

 

[MissStepcut]

If you want something close to the Lightbox price point just check out Brilliant Earth. They're certainly competing with Lightbox without any of the supply games. Tho for 20%ish more money.

 

[DoeEyes]

If you want something close to the Lightbox price point just check out Brilliant Earth. They're certainly competing with Lightbox without any of the supply games. Tho for 20%ish more money.

I would happily buy from brilliant earth if it were even close to the price, but when I searched for an equivalent stone, ~1 carat, G color, VVS, VG-EX, the prices at BE range from $3400-4000, compared to LB's $900 ($800 plus $100 minimum for setting).

 

[MamaBee]

I would happily buy from brilliant earth if it were even close to the price, but when I searched for an equivalent stone, ~1 carat, G color, VVS, VG-EX, the prices at BE range from $3400-4000, compared to LB's $900 ($800 plus $100 minimum for setting).

You don’t need a vvs. There are many beautiful diamonds all the way to SI2. The people here will help you find one without a doubt.

 

[DoeEyes]

I did get my stone and looked at it today. The hole is a lot smaller than I was expecting, I can't even really see it with the naked eye, under the loupe it does look bigger so I'm going to take it to the jeweler and see.

The necklace is a terrible design, does not lay flat. Oh and the chain was tangled again, that's two for two. The first necklace I ordered came tangled as well.

The diamond itself looks just as beautiful as the half carat. I found the logo much easier this time around but still can only see it with the 60x loupe, not the 30, it's a really tiny inscription.

Here are some pics, laying "flat" compared to my half carat LB solitaire, and under a 30x loupe trying to capture the size of the hole.

 

[MamaBee]

@frogplus It’s very pretty and a significant size difference. I hope it works out for you.

 

[DoeEyes]

Update: stopped at the jeweler on my way home. He said he can easily cover it with a prong and it won't see it (you can barely see it as is) but that it will likely collect dirt so I'll have to keep it clean, and that it's definitely possible it'll be weaker than an intact diamond and more likely to break if I slam it into something.

He was also pretty rude about lab diamonds in general, said I paid way too much, I said if you can find me a diamond lab or natural this size and quality for less, feel free, but I've done my research and there's nothing that even comes close right now. He just scoffed at that, said he doesn't own a computer and doesn't do the online stuff and it's all a scam or something, and that he could ask around for me. I said sure but he didn't take my info down so I think he was just all talk. He also said that moissanite is worthless and cracks easily, I didn't even want to get into it but moissanite is almost as hard as diamond so I think he's just an old school "natural diamonds are the only thing worth anything" dude.

Long story short I'm not keeping it, I'm going to return it and see if LB releases one carats without a hole. I'm also thinking I may just keep what I have.

 

[mrsthirdcharms]

I did get my stone and looked at it today. The hole is a lot smaller than I was expecting, I can't even really see it with the naked eye, under the loupe it does look bigger so I'm going to take it to the jeweler and see.

The necklace is a terrible design, does not lay flat. Oh and the chain was tangled again, that's two for two. The first necklace I ordered came tangled as well.

The diamond itself looks just as beautiful as the half carat. I found the logo much easier this time around but still can only see it with the 60x loupe, not the 30, it's a really tiny inscription.

Here are some pics, laying "flat" compared to my half carat LB solitaire, and under a 30x loupe trying to capture the size of the hole.

Frogplus, are the specs on your close-ups pits or inclusions or just surface dirt on the 1 carat stone?

 

[DoeEyes]

Frogplus, are the specs on your close-ups pits or inclusions or just surface dirt on the 1 carat stone?

I think it's actually surface dirt and a dirty loupe. I just looked again and I can see all those specs moving around as I move the loupe. I tried cleaning it but I don't have anything other than my shirt to wipe it with right now and it's still not crystal clear. I did try taking more pics after wiping the diamond and the loupe.

 

[DoeEyes]

Not sure what their "factory" is but I wonder what this change will mean for production. Also check out their Instagram, they're getting a lot of negative comments about the pierced necklace and what a bad idea it is, people expressing impatience with them having low stock, not sending email notification when things come in stock despite signing up, etc. I def believe they are just playing games but it seems to be back firing unless they really don't want people to like them? Maybe that's the plan, be a really shitty company? Idk why though, I thought they wanted to devalue lab diamonds, they aren't competing at all with other lab diamond sellers right now.

 

[bludiva]

Well, the most generous read of is may be they were trying to be fun and fashion forward with the pierced necklace....while satisfying the desire for bigger diamonds and staving off people buying just to reset. In that case, you think they would have realized in prototyping that the pendant wouldn't lay flat. I've only seen it with small stones before, maybe for that reason.

The earrings look nice imho though...I guess we might learn more by how they react to the negative reactions.

 

[MissStepcut]

I would happily buy from brilliant earth if it were even close to the price, but when I searched for an equivalent stone, ~1 carat, G color, VVS, VG-EX, the prices at BE range from $3400-4000, compared to LB's $900 ($800 plus $100 minimum for setting).

I should have qualified that: for smaller stones.

 

[SparkleFest]

Not sure what their "factory" is but I wonder what this change will mean for production. Also check out their Instagram, they're getting a lot of negative comments about the pierced necklace and what a bad idea it is, people expressing impatience with them having low stock, not sending email notification when things come in stock despite signing up, etc. I def believe they are just playing games but it seems to be back firing unless they really don't want people to like them? Maybe that's the plan, be a really shitty company? Idk why though, I thought they wanted to devalue lab diamonds, they aren't competing at all with other lab diamond sellers right now.

Frogplus - the factory has been in the process of being built. Six months ago, this article came out and indicated they hoped to be up and running by the end of the year (201, in Gresham, OR. Not sure if it ever got up and running or not, but prior to that, they were selling diamonds from Element Six.

A pertinent part:

"In any case, Lightbox is still starting out, and everyone involved says the project is a long-term play. With that in mind, this week I visited the construction site that will soon house the Lightbox factory in Gresham, Ore., near Portland.

The factory is set to be completed by the end of next year, and so far construction is on schedule. The initial factory will be 60,000 square feet, though it may expand from there. “Essentially, we can copy and paste as we need additional capacity,” says Adam O’Grady, head of special projects for Element Six, the synthetic-producing subsidiary of De Beers. In 2020, it hopes to produce 500,000 cts. a year."

https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/de-beers-lightbox-reviews-plans/

 

[DoeEyes]

Has anyone else seen this new "watch me sparkle" video on some of the product pages? It's so bad. Doesn't look like how the diamond actually looks at all, it has a ton of rainbow colors for some reason, and it just looks really fake. It's like they are trying to make it look cheap and bad quality.

 

[kmoro]

Has anyone else seen this new "watch me sparkle" video on some of the product pages? It's so bad. Doesn't look like how the diamond actually looks at all, it has a ton of rainbow colors for some reason, and it just looks really fake. It's like they are trying to make it look cheap and bad quality.

I’m sorry ... I looked at the video and thought what? The fire? You don’t like that they are trying to show the fire? I doesn’t look cheap and bad quality or fake to me ... and I’m willing to bet they took a video of the best cut diamond they had. Most people love fire ... I love the rainbows in my diamond. Just goes to show beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

 

[sparklynurse]

I’m sorry ... I looked at the video and thought what? The fire? You don’t like that they are trying to show the fire? I doesn’t look cheap and bad quality or fake to me ... and I’m willing to bet they took a video of the best cut diamond they had. Most people love fire ... I love the rainbows in my diamond. Just goes to show beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

I agree with you. I have a BE 1.13 ct lab diamond with an HCA score of .7 and it exhibits beautiful rainbows and great fire like any well cut diamond should.

 

[DoeEyes]

I think the video itself looks like GGI, not that the diamond looks fake. And in my experience seeing two LB diamonds in person now, neither of them had that much of a rainbow color. Maybe in very specific lighting but I wear it every day and it's never looked as rainbow as the video. Didn't mean to be bashing the diamonds, just that the video itself comes off as cheap to me compared to the videos on other sites, which I assume is intentional since they are trying to market these as fashion jewelry and "not real."

 

[DoeEyes]

Rings are here!
They are all 3/8 carat except the blue moon which is 1/4 carat surrounded by 1/4 pave in the moon.
Not sure they are my style, but I'd love to see have pics if anyone gets one!

 

[vintageloves]

Shucks, frogplus, you beat me to it! They're not my style and the $300 for a 10kt setting seems a bit much. I'd rather have a silver setting and save the $200 for a piece that will look super dated in such a short time. LOL at them being "low stock" the second they hit the site, though.

I guess I'm one of the few that has been really pleased with my lightbox experience? I love both of the necklaces I have-- 1ct princess and .75ct blue solitaires-- the princess in particular is well made and does not look costume at all. I wore it to a gala. My only regret is that I waited too long on the two-stone pendant and was never able to get it.

Right now, bluenile with their mother's day sales has some nice looking stacking rings that are more classic looking and cheaper than lightbox.

 

[DoeEyes]

Never seen this before. Assume they are doing website maintenance but maybe there's new stuff coming.

 

[kmoro]

I think the video itself looks like GGI, not that the diamond looks fake. And in my experience seeing two LB diamonds in person now, neither of them had that much of a rainbow color. Maybe in very specific lighting but I wear it every day and it's never looked as rainbow as the video. Didn't mean to be bashing the diamonds, just that the video itself comes off as cheap to me compared to the videos on other sites, which I assume is intentional since they are trying to market these as fashion jewelry and "not real."

That would mean the LB diamonds you have seen have less fire ... they probably have more brightness. I honestly do not share the cheap impression from the video ... not to mean any disrespect for your opinion!

 

[jeffportnoy]

Thanks so much for this thread. It helped lead me in many other directions. Here’s my post about the Lightbox ring I’m having made. It’ll be done Weds.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/lightbox-2-0-ct-engagement-ring.248575/

 

[KeepStepping]

I guess I'm one of the few that has been really pleased with my lightbox experience? I love both of the necklaces I have-- 1ct princess and .75ct blue solitaires-- the princess in particular is well made and does not look costume at all

I bought the 1ct princess necklace as well, and I was very happy with it. I thought it was a great color, good size and ok cut for the price. The chain tangles and is far too thin to feel like I could use it as a necklace, so I changed the necklace portion to a different string. I plan to take the diamond out and reset it in a ring design.

I actually like these stacking rings Lightbox made. I know they aren’t many people’s cup of tea, but I enjoy the square rings and modern look of them. I was trying to purchase two of them (pink baguette and white princess) and the site wouldn’t seem to let me. It was at first launch, so I think there was a website error rather than a sold out status already. If I can manage to get one, I’ll put photos up here too.

 

[vintageloves]

I was trying to purchase two of them (pink baguette and white princess) and the site wouldn’t seem to let me. It was at first launch, so I think there was a website error rather than a sold out status already. If I can manage to get one, I’ll put photos up here too.

That's a shame. That website is glitchy af. Maybe try again? They don't appear to be listed as sold out even now. The pink baguette is my favorite out of all of them. Hope you're able to get it (and come back and show it off)!

 

[GreenPapaya]

Alright, who bought the 1 carat blue diamond stud? Lol I was eyeing it and wondering if $1800 for earrings wasn't too excessive when it sold out. If you bought any new items please share pictures. Especially the earrings and the blue princess necklace.

 

[sd_flp]

I hesitated posting this, but anyway, my sister bought one of these Lightbox pendants with the 7/8 carat white diamond. She visited me his past weekend and I asked to see it. I don’t think hers looks as nice as some of the rounds posted here...




The color is nice, so I’ll give Lightbox that. Plus, the pale blue looks prettier than I expected it to be. As for my sister, I don’t know if she is going to keep it...she liked the idea of spending less than $1K on a diamond but I think by the look on my face, she could tell I felt just okay about it.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share these pics for anyone who is considering buying.

 

[kgizo]

Thanks for sharing, @sd_flp. I like it, but think you are right that we have seen others with better faceting. That surprises me as I would expect it to be consistent across all LB products. What is your guess about the color of the main diamond?