Frequently Asked Questions about Herkimer Diamonds: There are several questions the public frequently asks and these are covered here.
Why are they so perfect, like cut
gems and so clear?
Why are some of the
crystals smoky in color?
Why are the mines
different from each
other?
How were these made?
The answer to this can be found by
clicking on the “How were they made?
button at the top of the page.
This question is a little more complicated
to answer because it involves a number
of different things to happen. This will be
explained in the slide show.
Understanding how they were made will
help you with the answer to this question.
Basically, in order to get welll formed
crystals, with sharp faces that are also
clear you need to have two things 1)
room to grow in a way that prevents
“impurities” and 2) protection against
natures natural stressors which can
create impurities after the crystal is
formed. In the Herkimer Mining District
there were a unique set of events that
helped Mother Nature make these
flowers of the mineral kingdom.
The smoky color is due to radioactive
elements (carried with the hydrocarbon fluids)
that have cause the internal atomic structure
of the quartz to change. In doing so it causes
light to act differently when it bounces off of
the crystal.
The one thing each mine, deposit, has in common is that they produce Herkimer
diamonds, but at the same time each mine has it’s own unique features. There are
basically two reasons for this 1) variations in the intensity of the mineral forming events
(click on crystal photos top of this page) and 2) the amount of vertical flow versus
horizontal flow occurring at that mine - including its proximity to major fault structures.
Best Website for Herkimer Diamond Information - Made Possible by Collector Donations
The information, and photography, on this website is copyright protected
by W. David Hoisington, Ph. D. unless another author/photographer is cited.
Welcome to the New Herkimer Diamond Story!
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Updated - 03/09/2019
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Diamond research and
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Thank you Shannon Haley
Wilbur for the donation of 30
samples from the Fonda
region.1/05/2019 and 3/2/2019
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