A diamond element having good bonding properties and a method for fabricating the diamond element in which a diamond substrate is coated by and bonded to a first layer of chromium carbide, a second layer containing titanium, vanadium, zirconium, niobium, tantalum, iron, cobalt, nickel or copper, is bonded to said first layer, and a third layer of tungsten, or molybdenum deposited by a CVD technique utilizing metal halides, is bonded to said second layer. The second layer functions to protect the chromium carbide layer against attack by halide containing gas during the CVD deposition of the tungsten, or molybdenum.