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New Discoveries within the Herkimer Mining District
Best Website for Herkimer Diamond Information - Made Possible by Collector Donations
Every year something new is discovered within the Herkimer Mining District. 
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!
Return often and follow this developing story. Refresh your browser (right click) to see new updates
This page will be a place to see those new discoveries. The discoveries will stay on the page for the given calendar year.  At the start of each year the page will begin fresh and the previous year’s discoveries put on a separate webpage.  Credit is given to the person who discovers something new in the Herkimer Mining District, along with the right to name the feature.
The Sawtooth Termination: On the bottom of some Herkimer diamonds is an unusual sawtooth termination - slide 2 Similar feature found on Herkimer diamond like crystals from Pakistan - shown in slide 3.
Birds Eye Spheres: Birds eye spheres are named so (by Kathryn S.) because sometimes the spheres form in the shape of eye with an eye brow. Shown in slide 1.  These unique hopper spheres occur in several mines as inclusions and form varied effects as inclusions (see asterisk). The photo data indicate that these form at the contact between liquid hydrocarbon and quartz bearing solutions.
An interwoven mixture of blades, rods, arches, hydrocarbon and often fragments - slides 5 and 6. See the crystal frost page.
Updated - 03/09/2019
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The Disc Face
The disc face is a unique feature now found in two mines.  It is is associated with spherical quarts features. See photos 4 and 5. More on this discovery will be revealed on the curved features page (Spring 2018).  Slides 7 and 8.
The amber tip feature is the development of crystal frost at the tip of a Herkimer Diamond.  slide 4 (see crystal frost page).  This feature is a variation of the “Crystal Frost Tip”
The Amber Tip Feature
Hopper Weave Texture
The Quartz Rhombic Cast
These unique rhombic shaped inclusions are due to hydrothermal alteration (visit page) of dolomite inclusions. Slide 9. These are fairly common. if you have a collection of Herkimer diamonds then you probably have one  of these.
Thank you Shannon Haley Wilbur for the donation of 30 samples from the Fonda region.1/05/2019 and 3/2/2019 Check out her Facebook.
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