My exact thoughts, this statement made me chuckle: 'Synthetic diamonds, which can be produced in about 500 hours, share the same physical, chemical and optical characteristics as natural stones. But they are not nearly as valuable.'

So... the two items are identical in every possible way that matters except in the way that lines De Beers pockets?

It almost feels like De Beers sponsored this article in a desperate campaign to make dirty mined diamonds more valuable.