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Show Asks f or Check Of Gems in U. S. Diamonds Needed to Give Precision Required in Modern War Engines. WASHINGTON Modern war has made the diamond more precious than ever Throughout history diamonds have figured in romance, assassinations and adventure. But it remained for the current time to see them used as a tool without which America would find it hard to produce its fighting material. Enemy countries also need diamonds dia-monds for war. And if the United States can keep them from getting them, it will handicap them almost as much as though they were cut off from steel or oil. This is why the War Production board is calling upon all Americans having title to 10 carats or more of rough diamonds to report their holdings. At present the order applies only to rough diamonds. But a call may eventually be expected for an inventory inven-tory of all stocks of the precious stone. Help War Drive. Meanwhile, purchasers of engagement engage-ment stones and other decorative diamonds are helping the war effort. For industrial diamonds would be five or six times as costly if they were not a by-product of the mining and cutting of more valuable gems. The importance of this may be judged from the fact that just one war production plant in Detroit uses industrial diamonds at the rate of $2,000,000 worth annually. Only the diamond has the hardness hard-ness necessary to repeat the same precision operation over and over again, with never a variation. Since precision is an essential of assembly line production, war factories without with-out the diamond would have to fall back on the old hit-and-miss methods meth-ods of handwork. Chief uses of the diamond in war industry are to true super-hard abrasive tools, turn delicate machine ma-chine parts, draw wire to precise thickness, and to grind lenses for bomb-sights, range-finders and navigation navi-gation instruments. Fortunately this country has an abundance of gems. Between 1934 and 1941 United States dealers imported im-ported $42,753,517 worth of industrial diamonds alone. In addition, the Union of South Africa, one of our allies, al-lies, produces 95 per cent of all diamonds. dia-monds. Other Sources Available. Even should this source be cut off, however, Brazil is a large source of diamonds and diamonds of good industrial in-dustrial quality have been found in Arkansas. Output of Africa was shut off to Axis powers three years ago. As a result the Axis powers are so hard pressed for industrial diamonds that they are said to be using cut stones in their factories. The Japs also, reportedly short of diamonds when they entered the war, may have their eye on the immense im-mense treasure chests of Indian rajahs. Incidentally, the Germans greatly augmented this country's diamond supply without intending to. When the Nazis invaded Belgium and Holland, Hol-land, they had planned to seize the huge stock of diamonds in Antwerp and Amsterdam, centers of the world diamond cutting industry. But the diamond cutters, two jumps ahead, got their stocks aboard British Brit-ish warships which had been lying by for that purpose. On the ships also fled some of the world's most famous diamond cutters. Some of these cutters went to London; Lon-don; others are now in the United States and have established Americanized Amer-icanized "streamlined" diamond-cutting diamond-cutting establishments on West Forty-seventh street. New York city, the new center of America's diamond dia-mond trade. |