Quartz, var. Herkimer Diamond

Herkimer Diamonds are clear, double terminated Quartz crystals found in Herkimer County, New York. They were named after a general Herkimer in the mid part of the 1800's. They are found in silicified Limestone, otherwise known as Dolomite. This incredibly hard host rock, makes for slow mining and lots of broken bones and injuries to miners. The clearest Herks are usually found in small pockets with only a few crystals in them. Larger clusters that are often more cloudy and included, occur in larger pockets. This Herkimer was one of the nicest crystals out of a collection I selected from in West Palm Beach, Florida. Mrs. Dreicorn had mined herkimers in the 1960's with her father, and had several bags of them that I chose from. This crystal has a small crystal attached on its side (seen in pic "herkimer1b"), also a fluid inclusion with a stationary Anthraxolite inclusion. The crystal is in great condition, it has a very small patch where another herkimer contacted it in the pocket (not considered damage).