China has pioneered the production of flawless artificial diamonds. Some worry they are eroding demand for the real thing.

Creating a new diamond used to be a process spanning millions or even billions of years. Now, it takes about a week. Inside specialised factories, hulking 50-tonne machines simulate the crushing pressure and extreme temperatures inside the Earth’s crust, transforming seed crystals into flawless, glittering stones in just a few days. Zhongjing Diamond, a company based in China’s central province of Hubei, has nearly 300 of the machines humming around the clock, which together mint some 600,000…

From China - South China Morning Post via This RSS Feed.