Los Banos Rotary Club History
Steer Clear Of "Bargain Diamonds," Speaker Advises

Bargain hunters should confine their search to any commodity but diamonds. They're not likely to find any.

This is the advice of Mrs. Gladys Babson Hannaford, a New York gemologist, who spoke before the Rotary and Lions clubs and the high school science and home economics classes this week.

She currently is presenting talks on the classic gens during a west coast tour and her appearance here was arranged by John B. Machado, local jeweler and president of the California Retail Jewelers Association.
Referring to bargain diamonds which a person rarely finds Mrs. Hannaford said there are four factors which influence the quality-the carat, the color, imperfections and the manner in which a diamond is cut.

The larger the diamond the more it costs. There is no large, economy size in diamonds. A diamond with no color at all, said the speaker is a very beautiful thing, and the degree of color can lower the value considerably.
A tiny imperfection, however, would not lower the price much. The skill in which a diamond is cut is highly important and bad cutting can lower the value as much as 75 per cent.

Referring to cutting as an art and science, Mrs. Hannaford said it takes 7 hours to cut through a 2-carat diamond and divide it into sections.
Value of a diamond is kept high by its scarcity and the industry is hard put to keep pace with the demand. Some 80 per cent of those mined are not suitable for jewelry and are used industrially.

The Union of South Africa is the only place in the world where diamonds are actually mined.

March 21, 1958

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