"It's like comparing ice in a fridge at your home, with ice in a river," Zang said.

ONLY AS FASHION JEWELRY?

But in the view of De Beers and others with ties to the established diamond profession, there are still insurmountable differences between man-made diamonds and mined ones.

"Our research consistently shows that people see synthetic diamonds as a different product category from natural diamonds, just as they see synthetic rubies, emeralds and sapphires as different product categories from their natural counterparts," the company told Xinhua in a statement.

It is with convictions like this that De Beers decided to wade into men-made diamonds, intending to grab a growing sub-market and in the process solidifying the perception that man-made diamonds are inferior to mined ones, which will also safeguard its original business, experts said.

The Antwerp World Diamond Center largely follows the prevailing rationale in this regard, spokesperson Donckier said. "Diamonds and synthetic diamonds should be seen as two different products. They are certainly not interchangeable."

Current regulations in China and elsewhere require that man-made and natural diamonds are clearly labeled so that consumers know what they are buying.

Man-made diamond jewelry will fall into the category of "fashion jewelry" while natural diamonds will remain "fine jewelry," Zimnisky said.

But there are also outliers who say a diamond should not be forever even from the beginning, and consumers, many of whom are increasingly budget conscious, already have too many bills to pay excluding an overhyped and overpriced stone.

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