The Diamond Makers

A remarkable story of technological innovation and persistence told by a brilliant scientist who knew many of the key players. Very well written and accessible to anyone with an interest in diamonds, and in the history of science in general.

A well written, complete history of the development of high pressure chemistry and the production lab grown diamonds.

This book is easy to read, nicely paced and chock full of interesting facts about the human challenges overcome by the scientists and engineers who ultimately solved the problem of making artificial diamonds.

A book about the quest to make diamonds by brute force. It was a long hard struggle to heat and mash carbon enough to manufacture diamonds cheap enough to use in industrial applications. Eventually it became so routine that even peanut butter was converted to diamond.

Fascinating story about the pioneering work in mineral and rock mechanics and the quest for man made diamonds. Interesting science read.

The Diamond Makers by Robert Hazen uncovers the technological genius behind many chemists and physicists who were successful in the early synthetic manufacturing of the world's most popular stone.

The transducer using electronics and derivatives. Now in this world we are surround of transducer and well known programers to make the best and quality good. And the tester scientist formed of technicians who knows all about high internal pressure. I read about this book about references and I like it. If you want to follow the pressure content and derivatives. Now days the competency does not let you know about the formula or process to make a good that is why you have to do a research about your concerns and develop the understanding of the unknown....

People have been fascinated by diamonds for centuries, and scientists tried for about a century to produce them in a laboratory for about a century before they succeeded in a General Electric lab in 1954. This is the story of that quest. It is told with a liveliness and thoroughness quite unusual and delightful. Hazen describe the failed attempts of the early researchers, in some detail, and shows how one of the legends taught to me long ago as a child are bogus. Moissan could not have produced diamonds by the method he described. The story of Charles Parsons' (the inventor of the steam turbine) attempts was new to me and made me respect him all the more. Thirty years of failed attempts by one of the foremost mechanics of the early twentieth century showed the world just how challenging the synthesis was. Hazen gives a lively account of Percy Bridgeman's exploits in opening up the whole field of high pressure research to systematic study. His clever double-piston apparatus is clearly described, and I was entertained to learn how he published a couple of papers on how to measure pressure in it without divulging its geometry. The final breakthrough by Hall and coworkers at GE is described in some detail, and the controversy over credits and rewards is laid out for all it is worth. The personalities and their foibles and eccentricities of giants are always quite something. I hugely enjoyed this, and wound up sympathizing with Hall. Then Hazen goes into the modern developments of the scale-up to a quite profitable business, which is very impressive stuff. This is all still developing and changing decades later, and Hazen even includes some well-informed speculation on the importance of the newer vapor phase processes as well. I really enjoyed the fact that the book included lots of pictures and diagrams of the apparatus. Adds a lot. This is thrilling science and you'd have to be quite the cynic to think otherwise.

Everything you ever wanted to know about artificial diamonds; from the old charlatans who tried to con kings and jewellers out of fortunes to the range of scientists who over a century built the machines that could recreate the extreme conditions in which diamonds grow. Its all here!. A fun read, never too scientific but very clearly written by someone technical. Perhaps more coverage of DE Beers activitiy would have been good but there is no other history like it.

A very enjoyable read

Meant to read this for ages, finally bought the book and was glad I did. The path to making man made diamonds is certainly a dificult one, a very interesting read.