Black Diamond has become a fixture in Upper Deck's hockey lineup, remaining pretty much unchanged for most of this decade. The 2008-09 incarnation carries on the tradition of a four-tiered base set, ranging from Single Diamond cards found in every pack to Quad Diamond cards found one per box.
Boxes of 2008-09 Black Diamond Hockey contain 24 five-card packs. On average, each box should contain three Triple Diamond rookie cards, one Quad Diamond rookie card and two quad jersey cards.
Base Cards and Parallels
Black Diamond's 210-card base set is organized a little differently than most, with cards appearing in four levels of scarcity determined by the number of diamonds on each card. Single Diamond cards are found in every pack, Double Diamond cards are found are seeded 1:4 packs, Triple Diamond cards are found 1:8 packs and Quad Diamond cards are inserted just 1:24 packs (or one per box).
The 168 veterans are broken down into 84 Singles, 42 Doubles and 21 each of Triples and Quads. There are also 42 2008-09 rookie cards (called Rookie Gems) split evenly between Triple and Quad Diamond levels.
The card design is a little busier than in some past seasons, but it's definitely appropriate with its diamond-shaped frame for the player photo. The number of diamonds for the pictured player is at the bottom along with foil company and team logos.
The parallels are also named for precious stones and metals, with Ruby (numbered to 100), Gold (#'d to 10) and Diamond (1-of-1) levels.
I opened a single box of Black Diamond to review and found all 84 Single Diamond cards plus 19 duplicates, which unfortunately won't be any good as trade bait since anyone else who opens a box will also have them all. The other levels fell at the expected ratios, and I also found a Quad Diamond Ruby parallel of rookie Derick Brassard.
Jersey Cards and Autographs
Falling two per box, Quad Jerseys are just what they sound like: cards with four pieces of game-worn jersey, in this case from a single player. The 98-player checklist ranges from fringe players to retired superstars like Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. The regular level is unnumbered, but there are three numbered parallel levels.
Gemography autographs aren't found in every box but aren't too outrageous at 1:48 packs. The checklist of 86 players is pretty comprehensive, though top stars like Alexander Ovechkin and Joe Thornton are mostly short prints.
The About.com sample box produced the advertised pair of Quad Jerseys (Marc Savard and Andrej Meszaros) but no autographs.
Insert Cards
Black Diamond's inserts follow much the same pattern as its base cards, but with die-cut borders in the shape of the number of diamonds on each card. Premier Cuts are seeded one per box at the Single and Double Diamond levels, but 1:170 packs for Triple Diamond and 1:1015 for Quads. Collectors have proven that they still have an appetite for truly rare insert cards, so expect some fairly high secondary market prices for the Quads.
My review box yielded one Single Diamond (Chris Pronger) and one Double Diamond (Nicklas Lidstrom) insert.
The Last Word
Black Diamond's scarcity system is a good gimmick and really makes it attractive to collectors who are interested in building the complete set. It also ensures that the Quad Diamond Rookie Gems are in high demand, as they are among the most popular non-memorabilia, non-autographed rookie cards in the hobby.
That being said, Upper Deck really hasn't made too many changes to Black Diamond over the years, and its inserts could probably use a little freshening up. It's still a solid buy at under $100 a box and one of the more consistent products on the shelves in any sport.