ICE IN A FRIDGE, ICE IN A RIVER

A major boost to man-made diamonds, Chinese manufacturers said, came from De Beers, the dominant giant that popularized the saying, "a diamond is forever."

Reversing its previous position of shunning the man-made sector, De Beers took a U-turn in 2018 by selling man-made diamonds through its Lightbox Jewelry brand.

"Since De Beers embraced man-made diamonds, the market has been developing rapidly," said Liu, citing expanding sales in Japan and recent visits to his company from major jewelry brands.

Man-made diamonds' growing prospects are their increasing quality at decreasing cost. It is now impossible to tell a man-made diamond from a mined one with the naked eye, despite the latter's exorbitant price.