Chinese diamond factories are revolutionizing the gemstone market
In hardly any other industry are horror and glamour as closely intertwined as in the diamond trade. Now Chinese factories are putting an end to the old business model.
The earth takes more than a billion years to form a diamond – Feng Canjun does it in a week. On a sweltering summer afternoon in Zhengzhou, capital of the central Chinese province of Henan, Feng's Jiaruifu diamond factory is buzzing with energy. Inside, 600 elephant-sized machines simulate the hellish pressure and heat deep beneath the Earth's surface – where diamonds are actually formed. In just seven days, the machines produce diamonds weighing three carats each, enough for a sizable engagement ring.
