'Forever' now costs more

Sales of the glittering rocks have shot up by 20 to 30 percent, Liu Yujie reports

Diamonds are hot this summer and prices have shot up by 20 to 30 percent in recent weeks as more people have decided to invest in stones larger than one carat. And with advertisements for diamonds proclaiming "a diamond lasts forever", the classic styles continue to be the most popular. Zhu Yun, chief product officer of I DO, and Chen Xinyi, chief product officer of M&L, two companies that specialize in the design of diamond rings, said consumers have been setting high standards for diamond jewelry.

First of all, as more knowledge about diamonds has become available through the Internet, people have been developing new ideas about what a good diamond ring should be like.