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INDUSTRIAL DIAMONDS: IN WAR AND PEACE
agency in London, which informs the London dealer he may forward the shipment. This usually comes by Clipper, of course.
When
British control first was established here, it encountered
difficulties in stopping all gaps, because of American neutrality. Now
that exports must be licensed by the State Department, the plan works
more smoothly. The British are kept advised as to the movements and
destination of the diamonds, and inform the American government of
any leaks they suspect. The layman might think it easy for Axis agents
to secure plenty of diamonds in jewelry stores. Cutting a diamond as a
gem, however, greatly reduces its industrial value, owing to the change
in shape and removal of the outside surface—or skin—which has the
greatest resistance in most cases in grinding. And gem diamonds are
much more expensive than the rough, as we have seen.
It
is unlikely that diamonds of any kind will fall into the hands of
totalitarian powers, barring an overwhelming British defeat or a
successful invasion of South Africa. Most of them will make their way
to the United States as fast as they are mined. And here, during the
war and after the war, they will continue their fascinating dual role.
Their supreme hardness will speed the wheels of industry, their flaming
beauty will continue to light the eyes and spirits of men and women of
good will. What of the diamond in the future? Will the whims and
terrors of mankind change its importance, its vitality as a symbol of
imperishable sentiment? That is doubtful. It has caused minor
historical catastrophies before; it has been involved in some tense and
terrible moments before. But it has remained. Indeed, it has survived
the great flaming travail
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