Carbonado and yakutite are both porous aggregates of polycrystalline micrometre-size diamond, with very different characters from those of monocrystalline diamond. The genesis of carbonado is very controversial, whereas yakutite is thought to have been formed by meteorite impact. Neutron activation analyses of trace elements in carbonado and yakutite indicate that their rare earth element (REE) abundance patterns have common characteristics: heavy REEs are not much depleted and a negative Eu anomaly is observed. These patterns are quite different from those of kimberlite and monocrystalline diamond and are similar to those of crustal materials such as shale, supporting the hypothesis of a crustal origin for carbonado and yakutite.

Hyperspectral cathodoluminescence mapping is used to examine a carbonado diamond. The hyperspectral dataset is examined using a data clustering algorithm to interpret the range of spectral shapes present within the dataset, which are related to defects within the structure of the diamond. The cathodoluminescence response from this particular carbonado diamond can be attributed to a small number of defect types: N-V0, N2V, N3V, a 3.188 eV line, which is attributed to radiation damage, and two broad luminescence bands. Both the N2V and 3.188 eV defects require high-temperature annealing, which has implications for interpreting the thermal history of the diamond. In addition, bright halos observed within the diamond cathodoluminescence, from alpha decay radiation damage, can be attributed to the decay of 238U.