Ž .Lithos 51 2000 269www.elsevier.nlrlocaterlithos

Book review

‘‘The Diamond Makers’’ by Robert M. Hazen

I enjoyed reading ‘‘The Diamond Makers’’. It iswritten in a clear, relaxed style and tells an excellentscientific narrative about the trials and tribulations ofscientists trying to synthesise diamond.

The work begins with a thorough backgroundabout the early pioneers, who often risked life andlimb, in their attempts to create this mineral, but allwithout success. The realisation that high pressurewas pre-requisite for diamond synthesis, is told insome necessary detail and the profound initial influ-ence of Percy Bridgman in developing new highpressure apparatus is rightly highlighted. By the

Ž .early 1940s, two Companies, one in Sweden ASEA ,Ž .the other in the USA GEC , seriously set about

trying to create synthetic diamonds. Again thesethoroughly researched chapters chart the difficultieswhich had to be overcome before the successfulsynthesis of diamond by ASEA in early 1953.Chronicled is then the extraordinary decision by thatCompany not to announce their success, but onlyreveal their achievement after an announcement of asuccessful synthesis by GEC in late 1954. The inter-nal rivalry, within the GEC research team, as to whospecifically produced the first diamond, adds a fur-ther twist to the diamond story.

The book then outlines the considerable refine-ment work, particularly in pressure-cell design, thatwas still necessary before synthetic diamond could

Ž .be marketed in November, 1957 , considers theimpact that synthetics had on sales of natural dia-monds, and profiles the influence that Government

had on the commercialisation of synthetic diamondsin the USA. The vital need for strict patents toprotect the process is developed against a back-ground of the legal battle, that went on for nearly adecade, between GEC and DeBeers, with both sidesproviding expert scientific witnesses.

The later chapters consider diamond synthesis byexplosive impact, still a commercial process, and thecreation of diamond by chemical vapour deposition,a relatively new process which allows diamond toform outside its stability field at high temperatures,but low pressures. The final chapter brings the dia-mond story full circle, by describing the develop-ment of a pressure cell with diamond anvils. Thispiece of apparatus, which can be fitted to an ordinarymicroscope, generates pressures and temperatureswell within the diamond stability field, a far cry fromthe original diamond synthesis apparatus weighingmany tons.

With notes at the end of each chapter, whichenable the reader to delve more deeply into a particu-lar aspect of the diamond story, this book ought tohave wide appeal not only within the scientific com-munity, but also, with the general reading public. Forthis reviewer, it was, as someone once wrote, ‘‘ariviting read.’’

Jeff HarrisDiÕision of Earth Sciences,

UniÕersity of Glasgow,Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK

0024-4937r00r$ - see front matter q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.Ž .PII: S0024-4937 99 00079-1