• The Wall Street Journal (registration required), Monday, January 15, 2007 11 AM

Despite negative publicity from the movie "Blood Diamond," DeBeers is ramping up its advertising of the virtues of mined diamonds, due to a greater threat: lab-grown gems.

At ADiamondIsForever.com, DeBeers says, "Approximately 250 tons of ore must be mined and processed in order to produce a single, one-carat, polished, gem-quality diamond." A spokesperson says the company is not worried because "the value of diamonds is inextricably linked to how they were naturally formed billions of years ago." Tell that to the pearl industry.

Interest in the fakes is gaining traction in Hollywood, where wearing lab-grown diamonds makes a certain political statement. One Oscar presenter already promises he'll be sporting them.

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