The
origin of this extremely rare gem remains a mystery. While normal diamonds are created by tremendous earth
pressure and can be found in several locations around the planet where these
high-pressure conditions occurred, not a single black diamond has ever been
discovered in a traditional diamond mine.
They are mostly discovered in riverbeds, and so far only in two
countries and two different continents, Brazil (South America) and in Central
African Republic (Africa).
Professor Stephen
Haggerty and Jozsef Garai of Florida International University analyzed the hydrogen content in black diamond
samples using infrared-detection instruments and found that the quantity
indicated that the mineral formed in a supernova explosion. "The presence of hydrogen in the carbonado diamonds
indicates an origin in hydrogen-rich interstellar space."
The
most prominent theory is that black diamonds traveled on an asteroid that
collided with earth. What is
interesting is that the two countries that yield black diamonds were once next
to each other, 350 million years ago, when Africa and South America were one
supercontinent, Pangea.
It
is believed that a large asteroid struck the area of Pangea where the
continents would eventually split, and dispersed the black diamonds on
impact. So far, no other
explanation makes sense.
Black
diamonds are not widely known and not that many jewelers are interested in them
enough to create a marketing campaign that would drive the price up. If you are
looking for a nice contrast for white diamond jewelry, black diamond is a great
match because of its price, hardness and beauty.
This
is a picture of a ring of mine that was designed by a jeweler who intended to
use all white diamonds but I redesigned it, substituting two rows of black
diamonds on each petal. This drove the price down approximately 20-30% overall.
The
loose black diamond price in the market was significantly lower than white
diamonds at this time because of the rule of supply and demand. Carat for carat, black diamonds are a
quarter the price of medium quality white diamonds.
Some
company who might want to monopolize the black diamond market could use the
slogan “Black Diamonds—truly out of this world.”
Reference
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