Diamond
Species
Very Rare · C
Pure carbon crystallised under extreme pressure in the mantle, usually 150 to 200 kilometres down. Kimberlite eruptions carry it to the surface in a matter of hours to a couple of days; a slower ride would let it dissolve on the way. The hardest known natural mineral.
Identity
- Formula
- C
- Chemical class
- Native element
- Also known as
- Adamas, Brilliant (cut form)
- Used in alchemy
- Diamond Powder
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Habits
- Octahedral, Cubic, Dodecahedral
- Fracture
- Conchoidal
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 10
- Density
- 3.51 g/cm³
- Luster
- Adamantine
- Colors
- colorless, yellow, brown, blue, pink, red, green, black
- Transparency
- Transparent, Translucent, Opaque
Geology
- Origins
- Igneous, Metamorphic
- Host rocks
- Ultramafic rock (peridotite, serpentinite), River gravels and sands
- Associated minerals
- Olivine, Garnet, Diopside, Ilmenite, Mica
- Found in
- Kimberlite pipe, Placer deposit
- Geography
- South Africa, Russia, Botswana, Australia, Canada
Classification
- Rarity
- Very Rare
- Gem quality
- Yes
Arcane properties
- Affinity
- Light, Arcane
- Effects
- Warding, Planar travel
- Planar origin
- Material Plane
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- Diamond. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Diamond. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
- Diamond. Gemdat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- Karen V. Smit, Steven B. Shirey, Diamonds from the Deep: How Do Diamonds Form in the Deep Earth?. Gemological Institute of America, Gems & Gemology, 2018.
- Karen V. Smit, Steven B. Shirey, Kimberlites: Earth's Diamond Delivery System. Gemological Institute of America, Gems & Gemology, 2019.
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