Does It Take Millions And Billions Of Years To Make Diamonds?

Does It Take Millions And Billions Of Years To Make Diamonds?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, March 24, 2026 (Donate)

I was taught it take millions and billions of years to form diamonds. It is often suggested that natural diamonds today are billions of years old.

As a materials scientist and a biblical creationist, I suggest they are not that old. Why would I be so bold as to suggest such a thing? Because there are many ways to make diamonds today and none take much time at all!

Gemstone; Photo by Bodie Hodge

Why presume that diamonds take long ages to form in the first place? You need to understand that it is because of a worldview that is predicated on long age uniformitarianism and billions of years—the secular humanistic religion.

Science is observable and repeatable. Yet, no one has ever observed diamonds forming billions of years ago. No one has ever been able to repeat that alleged slow process.

Form a true scientific perspective, diamonds can be formed quickly today using several well-established industrial and laboratory methods. These processes replicate the essential conditions needed for diamond formation: high pressure, high temperature, or carbon-rich environments.

These methods are so well known that I’m going to list the scientific technical papers with each method instead of footnotes. That’s how well known these methods are. Let’s hit these methods.

High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT)

This is the most traditional industrial method and closely mimics natural diamond formation in the earth.

Carbon (usually graphite) is placed in a press and subjected to pressures of about 5–6 GPa (roughly 700,000–900,000 psi) and temperatures of about 1,300–1,600°C. A metal catalyst such as iron, nickel, or cobalt is typically used to help dissolve the carbon and allow it to crystallize as diamond.

A small diamond seed crystal is placed in the chamber, and carbon atoms attach to it, growing a diamond over days to weeks.

·       Ekimov, E. A. (2020). High-pressure, high-temperature synthesis of diamond from hydrocarbons. Progress in Materials Science, 113, 100671.

·       Wentorf, R. H. (1965). Synthesis of the cubic form of boron nitride. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 42(12), 4115–4116.

·       Zhang, J., Li, M., & Wang, H. (2024). A review of diamond synthesis, modification technology, and cutting tool applications. Materials & Design, 235, 112345.

·       Hemley, R. J., & Mao, H. K. (Eds.). (2021). Synthesis of diamonds and their identification. Mineralogical Society of America.

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

This is a more modern and highly controlled laboratory method. You take a thin diamond seed and then place it in a vacuum chamber filled with a carbon-rich gas, usually methane mixed with hydrogen. The gas is energized using microwaves, hot filaments, or plasma, which breaks the molecules apart. Carbon atoms then deposit layer by layer onto the seed, forming diamond.

This is done at a lower pressure than HPHT and the temperatures range from 700–1,200°C—far less than the last method. Growth can occur over days to weeks, producing very pure diamonds.

·       Balmer, R. S., Brandon, J. R., Clewes, S. L., Dhillon, H. K., Dodson, J. M., Friel, I., Inglis, P. N., Madgwick, T. D., Markham, M. L., Mollart, T. P., Perkins, N., Scarsbrook, G. A., Twitchen, D. J., Whitehead, A. J., Wilman, J. J., & Woollard, S. M. (2009). Chemical vapour deposition synthetic diamond: Materials, technology and applications. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 21(36), 364221.

·       Martineau, P. M., Gaukroger, M. P., Lawson, S. C., Twitchen, D. J., Evans, D. J. F., & Crowder, M. J. (2009). High crystalline quality single crystal CVD diamond. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 21(36), 364205.

·       Zhang, J., Li, M., & Wang, H. (2024). A review of diamond synthesis, modification technology, and cutting tool applications. Materials & Design, 235, 112345.

Detonation Synthesis (Nanodiamonds)

This method produces extremely small diamonds very quickly. Carbon-containing explosives are detonated in a sealed chamber. The explosion generates extremely high pressure and temperature for a fraction of a second, causing carbon atoms to crystallize into nanodiamonds before they can revert to graphite.

The resulting diamonds are typically only a few nanometers in size. But they have great industrial uses.

·       Danilenko, V. V. (2006). On the discovery of detonation nanodiamond. In Ultrananocrystalline diamond: Synthesis, properties, and applications (pp. 1–19). William Andrew Publishing.

·       Shenderova, O. A., & Gruen, D. M. (Eds.). (2012). Ultrananocrystalline diamond: Synthesis, properties, and applications (2nd ed.). William Andrew Publishing.

·       Zou, Q., Zeng, X., & Wang, H. (2010). Fabrication of nanodiamond by detonation method. Materials Research Innovations, 14(3), 187–190.

Shock Compression (Impact Methods)

Similar to detonation, this method uses sudden shock waves to create diamonds. A projectile or explosive force compresses carbon-rich material (like graphite) at extremely high pressures and temperatures for a very short time (seconds). This can convert carbon into diamond.

This process is also believed to occur naturally during meteorite impacts and possibly very explosive volcanoes (in small amounts). At both sites, people have commonly found diamonds. Regarding volcanoes, most diamonds might have been formed well below the surface where condition were more favorable to formation and they were transported via magmatic and lava movement.

·       Danilenko, V. V. (2006). On the discovery of detonation nanodiamond. In Ultrananocrystalline diamond: Synthesis, properties, and applications (pp. 1–19). William Andrew Publishing.

·       Shenderova, O. A., Nunn, N. A., & Ozerin, A. N. (2019). Synthesis, properties, and applications of nanodiamonds. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, 37(3), 030802.

·       Yan, X., Li, Z., & Chen, Y. (2026). Formation mechanisms of nanocarbon under extreme detonation conditions. arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.18316.

Ultrahard Ceramic and Catalyst-Free Methods

Laboratory advances have shown that diamonds can be formed without metal catalysts under extreme conditions.

Using advanced presses and carefully controlled environments, graphite can be converted directly into diamond at very high pressures and temperatures. Some experiments in labs have even shown diamond formation at somewhat lower temperatures by applying shear stress along with pressure (hours, weeks).

·       Stehlik, S., Varga, M., Ledinsky, M., Jirasek, V., Artemenko, A., & Kromka, A. (2015). Size and purity control of HPHT nanodiamonds. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 119(49), 27708–27720.

·       Ekimov, E. A. (2020). High-pressure, high-temperature synthesis of diamond from hydrocarbons. Progress in Materials Science, 113, 100671.

·       Zhang, J., Li, M., & Wang, H. (2024). A review of diamond synthesis, modification technology, and cutting tool applications. Materials & Design, 235, 112345.

Plasma and Laser-Assisted Growth Variations

These are refinements of CVD-like techniques. High-energy lasers or plasma fields are used to enhance carbon breakdown and deposition. These methods allow precise control over diamond growth, including doping diamonds with elements for electronics.

·       Shenderova, O. A., Nunn, N. A., & Ozerin, A. N. (2019). Synthesis, properties, and applications of nanodiamonds. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, 37(3), 030802.

·       Lipatov, E. (2020). Diamond synthesis and applications. In Advanced materials research. IntechOpen.

To Summarize

Modern science methods that researchers use show that diamonds do not require millions or billions of years to form. Under the right conditions, they can be produced in:

• Seconds (e.g., detonation and shock methods)
• Days to weeks (e.g., HPHT and CVD)

Each method shows that diamond formation depends primarily on conditions, not time. Industry today routinely produces diamonds rapidly for both commercial and scientific purposes. And of course, some companies make gemstones for jewelry as well.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.  

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.

His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.