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Washington, DC A diamond lasts forever, but that doesn t mean all diamonds have a common history.
Some diamonds were formed billions of years ago in space as the carbon-rich atmospheres of dying stars expanded and cooled. In our own planet s lifetime, high-temperatures and pressures in the mantle produced the diamonds that are familiar to us as gems. 5,000 years ago, a large meteorite that struck a carbon-rich sediment on Earth produced an impact diamond.
Each of these diamonds differs from the others in both composition and genesis, but all are categorized as diamond by the authoritative guide to minerals the International Mineralogical Association s Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification.