黑鑽石一般都是由豌豆大小或更大的多孔微小的黑色晶體的聚合體。最獨特的是，只有中非共和國及巴西能發現黑鑽石，極小部分發現在南非共和國，但卻沒有在通常發現鑽石的慶伯利岩中發現。利用同位素分析（英语：isotope analysis）黑鑽石晶體內的铅，發現這些晶體約於3億年前形成；然而，黑鑽石卻只發現於年輕的沉积岩中[2]。
鑽石中包含的礦物顆粒已被廣泛研究，以尋找鑽石來源的線索。一些典型的鑽石含有常見的地幔礦物包裹體，如鎂鋁榴石（英语：pyrope）和鎂橄欖石，但在黑金剛石中尚未觀察到此類地幔礦物。相比之下，一些碳酸鹽含有地壳特徵礦物的自生包裹體；內含物不一定確定地殼中鑽石的形成，因為雖然明顯的晶體內含物出現在黑鑽石中常見的孔隙中，但它們可能是在黑鑽石形成後引入的。發現地殼中稀有或幾乎不存在的其他礦物的夾雜物至少部分包含在金剛石中，而不僅僅是在孔隙中：在這些其他礦物中，含有硅、碳化硅及铁‑镍的成分。沒有發現獨特的高壓礦物，包括六方碳的同质异形体藍絲黛爾石，作為夾雜物出現在黑鑽石中，儘管黑鑽石有可能是由隕石撞擊而形成的[2]。
同位素的研究揭示更多關於黑鑽石來源的線索：黑鑽石內碳的同位數慎非常低，相比一般的鑽石，黑鑽石內碳13比碳12少得很多[2]。
Carbonado exhibits strong luminescence (光致发光 and 阴极射线发光) induced by 氮 and by 晶格空位 existing in the crystal lattice. Luminescence halos are present around radioactive inclusions, and it is suggested that the radiation damage occurred after formation of the carbonados,[3] an observation perhaps pertinent to the radiation hypothesis listed below.
Toughness vs. hardness
Carbonado’s polycrystalline texture makes it more durable than a monocrystalline diamond. It is the same hardness as other types of diamond, but it is much tougher. Its polycrystalline texture allows a single abrasive granule to present multiple crystallographic orientations of the diamond crystal at the cutting surface and the hardest orientation does the most aggressive cutting.
Cutting tools made with carbonado diamond last longer and require less maintenance. Carbonado was recognized as a super abrasive in the 1800s and was more highly valued for its cutting and grinding effectiveness over other varieties of diamond. The problem with carbonado is its rarity. It is only found in two countries, and total worldwide production has only been a few tons of material. Carbonado is not an important commodity in today's abrasive market.
In the late 1800s, when De Beers was developing their diamond mines in South Africa, they preferred carbonado over their own diamonds for diamond drilling. Gardner F. Williams, General Manager of De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. lamented: "Round or shot boart（英语：boart） is found in the mines at Kimberley and is very valuable for use in diamond drilling since the Brazilian carbonado has become so scarce."[4]
黑鑽石地外起源假說的支持者認為黑鑽石源於380億年前一顆超新星爆炸時噴射出來的物質[7][5]。After coalescing and drifting through 外层空间 for about one and a half billion years, a large mass fell to earth as a 隕石 approximately 2.3 billion years ago. It possibly fragmented during entry into the Earth's atmosphere and impacted in a region which would much later 板块构造论 into 巴西 and the 中非共和國, assumed to be the only two known locations of carbonado-diamond deposits (which is not an accurate representation of the distribution of carbonado diamondite, the poly-crystaline form).
不過介乎兩個國家之間的喀麥隆並未有黑鑽石開採過的紀錄。
^Kroschwitz, Jacqueline I. (编). Kirk-Othmer encyclopedia of chemical technology 5th. Hoboken, NJ (USA): J. Wiley. 2004: 10. ISBN 9780471484943（英语）.
^ 2.02.12.22.3Heaney, P. J.; Vicenzi, E. P.; De, S. Strange Diamonds: the Mysterious Origins of Carbonado and Framesite. Elements. 2005, 1 (2): 85. doi:10.2113/gselements.1.2.85.
