We all need a piece in our collection.... Carbonado Black Diamond - Central African Republic (provenance Blaine Reed) Of all meteorites (or potential meteorites), most of us have seen more incorrectly identified Carbonados than pretty much anything else. But this the Real McCoy. I have handled many diamond crystals during my career and these are particularly wonderful to hold. That inherent coldness to the touch that a diamond has and the unmistakable surface texture that exudes hardness and eternity. But Carbonados are different. They are very different from regular diamonds in many ways. Firstly they are around 3.8 billion years old and are only found in much younger sediments. They aren't found with typical diamond-bearing rocks nor do they contain the usual deep-mantle inclusions associated with most normal diamonds. They are also not crystals in the usual sense, but an aggregate of many microscopic diamonds packed together, making them marginally harder than normal diamonds. Their chemistry contains minerals only found in meteorites, and hints that they must have been formed in an oxygen free hydrogen rich environment. One theory is that they formed in a nearby supernova around 3.8 billion years ago, falling to Earth as part of a larger meteorite/asteroid around 1-1.5 billion years later. Controversial, yes. Must-have, definitely. -------- This item comes with a display card in a foam-lined plastic display box, measuring approximately 84x59mm. All our meteorites and tektites come with a signed, stamped, & uniquely numbered Certificate of Authenticity. See the 1cm (10mm) scale cube to get an accurate idea of ​​this item's size. Please note: The scale cube is not included with this item. All shipping is by Certified Correos with tracking, or by UPS within the EU where it is not price-prohibitive.