Pickup stylus having fused diamond and ceramic bodies with conductive surfaces for capacitance disk records

An oxidation resistant soldering compound is deposited in a bore formed on an end of a ceramic shank. A diamond grain is placed in the bore of the shank and heated at an elevated temperature in a vacuum to solder the diamond with the ceramic shank. The soldered diamond and ceramic body are lapped into the shape of a stylus. The stylus is subsequently placed in an environment containing a small amount of oxygen and heated at a temperature lower than the solidus temperature of the soldering compound to convert the surface area of the diamond into a conductive layer of carbon which is lapped into an elongated form to serve as a stylus electrode.