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“Herkimer Diamonds” is the name of a doubly terminated quartz crystals which is found in Herkimer County, New York and the surrounding areas. A few examples of these crystals are shown in thse photos. These crystals have the typical hexagonal habit of quartz, however, instead of having a termination on one end they are doubly terminated. This occurs when the crystals grows with very little or no contact with their host rock. Doubly terminated crystals are rare which makes Herkimer Diamonds popular among some mineral collectors. It still has the standard characteristics of a quartz crystal in that it is a tectosilicate with a hexagonal system.

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The Herkimer diamond is amongst the most unique members of the quartz family because of their resemblance to true diamonds, and yet they are totally quartzite in everything else. The Herkimer Diamond is so named because it was first found in Herkimer County, New York State, but they have since been uncovered in Mexico, Spain, and Tanzania. In USA, Herkimer Diamonds are found not only in Herkimer, but also in Fulton and Montgomery counties.

In appearance, the Herkimer Diamond is actually a stout double terminated quartz crystal, but for the untrained eye, they could be mistaken for diamonds. Herkimer Diamonds are believed to be several hundred million years old, making them one of the oldest quartz variants around.

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