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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Blue diamonds from the deep Earth are all wet

Chemical analysis of rare gems suggests that seawater played a part in their creation.
A close-up view of the 'De Beers Cullinan Blue' diamond on a dark grey reflective surface

A 15.1-carat diamond from the Cullinan mine in South Africa gets its blue colour from the element boron. Credit: Justin Lane/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Rare blue diamonds arose from the watery remains of deep-diving slabs of Earth’s crust1.

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Nature 612, 592 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-04388-8

References

  1. Regier, M. E. et al. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 602, 117923 (2023).

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