I had never heard the term carbonado, but I like it.  It sounds cool.   Say it again………….. “Carbonado.”   A carbonado is a black diamond.  Black sapphires are found in a number of places throughout the world, but carbonados are mostly found only in Central Africa and Brazil.  I am not sure if some have been found in India in centuries past.  There seems to be some debate within the scientific community as to how black diamonds are naturally formed.  Most believe they develop like any other diamonds, a carbon substructure under intense heat and pressure for long periods of time.  That probably is a little too simplistic, but good enough for my brain.  However, some geoscientists think they came from outer space.  Sounds like some science fiction movie, but they are quite serious. Because of only two known locations on earth where they are found, these scientists postulate that a huge meteor impacted the earth billions of years ago when a land mass had Brazil and Africa joined.  I think the hypothesis is not unfounded.

            Most carbonados are not very big, only about the size of a pea.  They are diamonds, but they do not sparkle, that is they do not reflect light, but rather absorb light, therefore they are dark.  They are not truly black but dark because of the numerous inclusions within the stone.  They are also more porous than other diamonds and therefore difficult to cut and polish in order to make them shine.  Some famous black diamonds include The Black Star of Africa at 202 carats and the Black Orloff at 67 carats.  Black diamonds have never been as valuable as clear or colored diamonds but they seem to have been a little more sought after the last decade.  Most black diamonds for jewelry are a very dark green color that has been exposed to radiation.  Black diamonds that are mined are a very hard and are useful in industrial settings.  The Black Star of Africa was last seen in 1971 in Tokyo.  The Black Orloff came from a shrine in India, but I am unsure if it was originally discovered in India.  It was bought by a Russian princess in the 1850’s whose last name was Vyegin-Orlov.  It is currently owned by a jeweler in Pennsylvania.  The Table of Islam is a 160 carat black gemstone, but little is known about it.

            I included black diamond on the game board of Treasure Trove because In the process of researching famous treasures around the world I was surprised to read about black diamonds.  I had never heard of them.  I did my research years ago before the time of internet access.  I had limited information on the subject.  I placed ‘Black Diamond’ in Brazil on the game board of Treasure Trove because I thought it might be of interest to those who had never heard of black diamonds.  I hear jewelry with black diamonds is becoming popular now.