This site was last updated on May, 2011
The best website on "Herkimer Diamonds"
How Can I Help Make this Herkimer Website Better?
A public service project always open to input from the community interested in Herkimer diamonds.
HerkimerHistory.com is a website that aims to contain all the information known about Herkimer diamonds. There are many different Herkimer dismond mines, or sites. Each mine has its own character. These deposits are scattered across a region that is called "The Herkimer District". In addition, it is an area that has been explored over decades of time with a history of stories to tell. Each site has its own piece of the Herkimer history story and gathering all of this information needs community support. Described here is what types of support are needed. Please make a contribution to this project and tell others about the website so that they may help.
This large scale project has never been done before and your help is needed.
Photographs of specimens, pockets and locations:
"Junk" specimen donations:
"Bubbles" (enhydros) donations:
Join the "Friends of Herkimer Diamonds" list:
Send an email with Interesting things you've seen:
Just send us an email and say "I'd like to be put on the Herkimer list". It is as easy as that. This is a private list. No one will see it and it will not be used for commercial purposes. It is simply used to communicate about the work being done on this community project - www.HerkimerHistory.com
Often collectors have seen interesting features at Herkimer deposits. These can be important clues which will help with telling the history of Herkimer diamond deposits. Just use the email and send us your story, with the name of the deposit, and the year. A photo would be nice, but it is not necessary.
Herkimer diamonds have "bubbles" of liquid and gas trapped within them. This gas and liquid tells us something about the history of the deposits. No one has done a comparison of "bubbles" from different deposits. Many samples will be needed, of any size. Please include the deposit name.
Almost every collector who has worked in the Herkimer deposits for a while has "junk" specimens lying around. Maybe some are tossed out in the back yard. If you know what deposit they came from then they might be useful for research. Just about anything that has any kind of crystals on it has the potential to be of help. There are specific specimen needs, and they are listed below:
"Quality" multi-mineral specimen or photo donations:
Of primary importance is a small sample of the TOP (roof) wall rock from a pocket and the BOTTOM wall rock from that same pocket (from the "dome if there is one). Any kind of crystals (they don't have to be Herkimers) on these two pieces of wall rock (even microscopic) is ok. A picture of the pocket would be good. The name of the deposit is needed. This samples are usually tossed away - but please consider saving them.
What is needed are small specimens (or quality photos) with one mineral growing next to, touching, another. The two minerals can be overlapping, intersecting, one on top of another, or one as an inclusion inside another. Information about such specimens provides important clues about the history of the Herkimer deposits.
Fragments, broken specimens, of skeletal, phantom, or any types of interesting inclusions within Herkimers.
Calcite crystals on matrix, even damaged. Also saddle dolomite
Pure white/cream clay in matrix. Also anything odd or unusual.
Photographs are probably the easiest things to send along to this website. Please consider the following BEFORE sending a photograph:
Please attach it to an email in .jpg format AND make sure it is a sharp and clear picture! The maximum dimension across the specimen is needed.
Tell us something about the specimen. What deposit, what year, what did the pocket look like (clay, carbon, size), what did the other crystals look like, or anything else interesting.
The above also apply to pocket and location photos. Tell us a story about it (if you can).
If you are out there "mining" then please save these! It is an important contribution to science.
Pass on this website to others so that they may benefit and possibly contribute. The more that know the more that may help this site have the best information available.
If you know of someone else doing research in the area then please tell us about it and who to contact.
An important part of this research includes research on "oil fluid" inclusions (click on the link below to see a photo). So far no research has been done on these due to a lack of samples. Public support is needed.
also called "golden enhydo"
Why is all of this help needed?:
The main reason that this help is needed is because we do not know the answers so many questions regarding the formation of Herkimer diamonds. Go to the "New Research" page to see these questions. The other reason is that there are many diferent features of the deposits that can be seen, sampled, photographed, by a community of Herkimer enthusiasts and that information can be added here. Many eyes work better than just two. Just click on the email button to tell us what you would like to contribute.
Small bottles with pure "black carbon" material from pockets
Web page author - W. David Hoisington, Ph.D.
Where to mail those specimens that might help the Herkimer Diamond research:
Dr. W. David Hoisington
College of St. Joseph
71 Clement Rd.
Rutland, VT
05701
