This site was last updated on November 06, 2008
Quartz Crystal Habits within Herkimer Diamond Deposits
The best website on "Herkimer Diamonds"
Larger photos of the thumbnails presented on the main "Crystal Form" page. Included is identification information and the source link is embedded there (just click). In some cases additional information and comments are provided for each photo.
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Single Crystals Including Color Variations
A public service project always open to input from the community interested in Herkimer diamonds.
This is one of the largest Herkimer diamonds I have seen that still has the double terminated (coming to points at both ends) form. When Herkimer diamonds get large, beyond around 4 cm (point to point), then they almost always have some flaws or fractures. Occassionally a 4.5 to 6 cm crystal occurs with minimal fracturing, but it is extremely rare. This large size, nick named the "two hander", is also rare. It is from Fonda, NY (DA), 1992. Photo by Dr. D.
This is the close to the "classic" Herkimer diamond form (minus the crystal imbedded). The little black specks are likely a type of carbon material. This is a small crystal. The smaller crystals (like this one) are more likely to be found without fractures and are easier to find (or buy).
Below are the two most common forms of single crystals - small and clear or big and fractured. The third would be skeletal and they are on their own web page.
This is not really a single, but a "mom and her child". The specimen is 3.5 cm across (which is fairly large for a nearly flawless crystal). The darker color is due to reflections and shadows, but the specimen is extremely clear. The other nice feature is that the base crystal it is close to the classic form. It comes from a carbon pocket in Fonda, NY (DA) 1988. Photo, Dr. D.
This is a totally clear crystal (again the shadows are reflections). It is 4 cm point-to-point which is large for a nearly flawless crystal. This is from Middleville, NY (HDM).
Photo submitted 2008 by Joe Kapelewski, from his collection.
The next two pictures of single crystals are donated by Mike Eggleston (2008). Crystals are 30 to 32 mm, point-to-point. From Living Mt. Claim (on TM), Little Falls, NY. Link to Mike's website is below:
These single Herkimer diamonds are nicknamed "The Four Sisters". They are all about the same size and of high clarity with well developed faces all around. They are 15 mm point to point. What is nice about this photo is that is shows the slight variations in form that Herkimer diamonds often show, even from the same pocket. These came from a carbon pocket in Fonda, NY (DA - 1992). Photo Dr. D. Small Herkimer diamonds like this are fairly common across the district.
These are 3 cm crystals that are of nice quality showing some minor inclusions. Crystals this size and larger with no inclusions are extremely rare.
Please send us photo donations. Nice quality photos will be added, with credit given.
To the right is another large Herkimer diamond (Fonda, NY, DA, 1992) and highly fractured internally, like the "two hander". But the difference is this large crystal has the "typical" herkimer diamond form. Most large crystals are malformed and not this uniform. Photo, Dr. D.
Web page author - W. David Hoisington, Ph.D.
The TCR deposit also has some other unusual shaped crystals as well as some excellent skeletal and hopper crystals (see the skeletal page).
More photos can be found on the Odd Form page
Left is a small smokey crystal (15 mm) from TCR (Mike Hoisington specimen and photo, 2009)
Above is a smoky colored crystal, 5 cm tip to tip, from TCR (photo Dr. D. 2009). The TCR deposit has a higher frequency of these special shaped crystals that have very small m (prism) faces. The m face is labeled on the above diagram with the clear crystals to illustrate the difference. The smoky color found in Herkimer diamonds is not rare, but it is not as common as the clear or white. To the right is a photo of a small crystal, more common to TCR, with the m-face almost missing. This is called the "Cumberland Habit" named after a location in England.
The Cumberland habit in the Herkimer diamond mining district
