INTRODUCTION

To the majority of people the word 'Diamond' conjures up the idea of a shining valuable Gemstone set in a ring, a brooch or a necklace. By popular consent the Diamond has come to be recognized either as a wealth status symbol or as an object of personal adornment and decoration. That these small polished crystalline stones (for that is all they are) are indeed held in great esteem is evident from the considerable sums of money which people are and always have been ready to pay for well-polished, good-quality Diamond GEMS, especially large ones.

Yet, as we will show you here, the Diamond is not only an article of jewelry, it is at the same time a material of funda­mental importance to modern industry. It plays a basic part in the engineering productions of both peace and war. Indeed, Diamond is a highly strategic material in every sense of the word. Withdraw Diamond from heavy industry and virtually all mass-production lines would become paralyzed, as we shall see later.

Diamond happens to be the hardest material known to man, and it turns out that Diamonds play fundamental parts in numerous machining processes which either use or work on hard materials, metals, ceramics and a host of other objects. We shall see as we progress that Diamonds encroach into defense politics, into industrial competition and into high finance, as well as decorating our ladies. Industrial Diamonds have developed into a formidable specialist aspect of engineer­ing technology. The production of the Diamond itself is a major mining industry and its fabrication and exploitation are equally large industries.