Ongoing Research:
The Spheres Project
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!
Return often and follow this developing story. Refresh your
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Every year we will take on one of the unresolved problems in the Story about
Herkimer diamonds. For 2016-2018 it is the spheres project. If you have found
any type of curved crystal feature in the Herkimer Mining District, please send
us a photo, or a sample donation.
The Spheres, Disc Faces
and Curved Features
The spheres, disc faces and
the curved features have now
been found at 3 mines: AD, LF
and TCR. It is expected that
they will be found at all
mines, in some form. But we
still know little about them.
The research suggests that
these curved features are a
product of the quartz -
hydrocarbon interaction
during the growth of
Herkimer diamonds.
Updated - 03/09/2019
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Diamond research and
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There is quite a large variation in the forms of curved features. To date (winter 2017/2018) we have over 1000 photos of
curved features with more to be added. To understand these variations and their connection to the Oil and Seed Crystal
theory requires considerable research time but these features are the best candidate for physical support of the Oil and
Seed Crystal theory. The variation in the curved features suggests that the quartz interacted with the hydrocarbons
(and associated fluids) during the growth of Herkimer diamonds while the hydrocarbons changed, degassed, eventually
becoming the hard pyrobitumen (inaccurately labeled anthraxolite) that is most common in the Herkimer Mining District.
To see read more see the spheres and curved features research page.
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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