When Marilyn Monroe sang, "There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer, but diamonds are a girl's best friend," she probably never thought that the diamond, not  the girl, would ever need a good defense.

De Beers, the largest purveryor of a girl's best friend, has recruited none other than South African activist Nelson Mandela to be the new best friend of the diamond industry.

Diamond executives are growing nervous about a new movie called The Blood Diamond, which is scheduled for release in January, 2007. The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly, tells the story of two South Africans, a mercenary and a fisherman during the savage Sierra Leone civil wars. During this conflict, rebels seized mines to sell "conflict" or "blood diamonds."

But will the PR effort work?

I guess it's hard to say. One thing is certain, Moissanite executives have probably already singing, "There may come a time when a girl needs a lawyer, but laboratory-produced-diamonds are an girl's best friend."