The old master diamond cutters in Antwerp and Tel Aviv - cities with rich histories in the trade - often dismiss the stones cut and polished in Guangdong as insignificant.
But such disparagement has not deterred China in its quest to be a major processor of diamonds for the mass market.
The mainland is the world's second-largest processor of small diamonds, after India, and is keen to establish an industry that encompasses not just manufacturing but trading, designing and retailing. This won't happen until there is more interest by mainlanders in owning diamonds.
So far the most popular use of diamonds is for bridal accessories such as wedding rings or earrings. Factories in China import small rough stones, typically below one carat - a unit of weight equal to 200 milligrams - and process them to decorate or embellish watches and jewellery. Many are then exported to the United States and Europe.
The mainland has about 100 diamond cutting and polishing factories, mostly in Guangdong, and the local government is pushing hard to lure more dealers and factories from Israel and Belgium to the province's industrial district of Panyu, 120 kilometres northwest of Hong Kong.
Technology has pushed down the cost of cutting and polishing a small diamond to the equivalent of making a pair of chopsticks and the battle for processing small diamonds is tough.