De Beers has scorned lab-made diamonds for years. Now it will sell them — for as little as $200.

De Beers, the diamond giant that for years has promoted gemstones as pricey and precious, said it will begin selling man-made diamonds that cost about a tenth of the price of a mined gem. The line of pink, blue and white laboratory-grown diamonds, which De Beers will sell under a new brand, Lightbox Jewelry, is designed to persuade shoppers to think of synthetic diamonds as a “fun piece of fashion jewelry” instead of a lifelong investment, executives said Prices will start at as low as $200 to appeal to a new generation of shoppers. “We see this is as opening up new gifting occasions where perhaps a natural diamond would say too much or, frankly, be too expensive,” said Steve Coe, general manager of Lightbox Jewelry “This is something you might buy for a best friend or for a Sweet 16” The shift to synthetic is an unexpected move for the world’s largest diamond miner,. More