Herkimer Diamond- The Stone of Attunement
Via Oceanstone Collections.
Herkimer County, New York, USA
Herkimer Diamonds are perhaps one of the most widely internationally recognized crystals among collectors, metaphysicists, mineralogists, and gem dealers alike. Their provenance is unmatched, their high-frequency and piezoelectric energy renowned, their collectability famous, their beauty legendary, their textbook geometry fascinating, their value high. While there are other double-terminated “diamond” quartz in the world, including Tibet, China, Arizona, Pakistan and Tennessee, to name a few, the naturally faceted Herkimer variety stands out in composition, clarity, energy, and beauty.
Geology and Formation
The extensive and ancient geology of New York State has provided us with a timeless treasure unlike anywhere else in the world. It is the incredibly hard and compact dolomitic limestone of upstate New York which owes to the unique formation and characteristics of Herkimer Diamonds. While the ~500 million year history of Herkimers is still not completely understood, what geologists do know is that upstate New York was once inundated by a shallow tropical sea rich with primordial life such as algae, stromatolites, and other microscopic life. Over time, as organisms died and their bodies sank to the ocean floor and became a part of the sediment, this organic-rich sediment became a significant layer. This compacted organic sediment eventually underwent massive pressure and heating as part of the formation of the Appalachian and Adirondack Mountains, forming what is known as dolomitic limestone- the bedrock of upstate NY. As the mountains continued to rise and the continent formed, superheated and silicon-rich water flowed through cracks in the organic limestone, dissolving preserved organic areas (what used to be algae mats or stromatolites) and creating cavities or “vugs”, especially in areas where organic fossilization was most concentrated and the rock was, therefore, more porous. It is in these vugs that crystals slowly started to precipitate over the next 200 million years, capturing within the remnants of the fossilized organic carbon, known as anthraxolite, and forming terminations at each end of each crystal due to the pre-existing vugs that gave the crystals their own space to ‘seed’ and grow (more information here).
A small vug of herkimer diamonds atop carbon anthraxolite with dolomitic limestone matrix rock. Small blue dots are believed to be glauconite growth (Oceanstone Collections mining trip 2021).
As opposed to growing out of the rock, like most quartz with only one termination, Herkimers grew suspended in liquid and already had their own chambers to grow in. Continued orogenic activity pushed some areas of this crystal-rich rock to the surface, where they cooled and the crystals finished their formation. It was then, another 100 million years later, that glaciers carved Upstate New York, exposing the crystals in and around Little Falls and Middleville, Herkimer county, and in some cases, weathering and fracturing them. From organic ocean to mountain formation and superheated rock to glacial carving, Herkimers were born and made available to the humans.
Because of their ancient and eventful formation, combined with ideal conditions and unique geologies, Herkimer Diamonds are particularly clear, sharp, pristine, and typically contain myriad inclusions and formations adding to their character, including anthraxolite, enhydros, record keepers, clusters, iron-oxide, calcite, sceptres, elestials, smoky, internal fracturing creating rainbows, and more. From a crystallography perspective, Herkimer Diamonds represent textbook geometry of 18-faced hexagonal prismatic growth (in rare cases there may be additional faces), and can grow in a wide variety of habits, including tabby, parallel, Cumberland, hawknose, dauphine, druzy, and much more (more information here).
Enhydros, rainbows, surface etchings and anthraxolite are all included within one single Herkimer Diamond (Oceanstone Collections).
History, Mythology and Uses
Herkimer diamonds are a bit of a misnomer, as their name is somewhat misleading. They are quartz crystals, a member of the double-terminated ‘diamond quartz’ family, yet they have a remarkably high refractive index, excellent clarity, and their natural 18-sided naturally geometrical facets resemble diamonds. So much so, that the early European colonists mistook the crystals for real diamonds, which is how they recieved their name. The indigenous tribe of the Mohawk Valley and Adirondack region of upstate New York, known as the Kanien’kehàka “People of the Crystal Valley”, were very fond of the crystals, which they called Clear Water Stone, and used them in ceremony, as currency, and traded them for furs from early European settlers.
These ancient and wise quartz crystals, known as the Master Quartz, carry with them the DNA and wisdom of many earth processes and chapters, perfectly protected and preserved all this time by the unforgivingly tough dolomitic limestone. They are stones of light and amplification, atunement, angel guides, dream state, tuning to one's highest frequency, and are able to effectively amplify the effects of other crystals. They are one of the highest frequency ascension crystals known to man, besides phenacite and moldavite, and anyone who has held a Herkimer Diamond before knows that they are unlike any other stone. As a predominantly silicon planet, Herkimer Diamonds are the best and most indicative crystals planet earth offers, our planet’s own unique creation. If aliens came to earth asking for the most planet-specific, special, and wise crystal of our planet, Herkimer Diamond is what I would offer them.
A universe within a universe- a marvel surface ‘record keeper’ with its own microscopic Herkimer Diamond nested inside of it. 20x magnification (Oceanstone Collections).
The crystal itself is one of the only double-terminated quartz crystals, and the most unique and powerful of other ‘diamond quartz’ such as those found in Pakistan, Arizona, and Tibet. Its double termination and molecular purity creates a naturally strong piezoelectric effect, which transmutes and amplifies energy as it generates its own toroidal energy field. Piezoelectricity is what facilities the flow of electricity for many computer components, radios, cell phones, sensors, and the majority of our electric devices. Herkimers are slightly more atomically compact than normal quartz and some have reported that they have a Moh’s hardness of 7.5 rather than the normal 7 of all other quartz, including other diamond quartz.
They are perfect for crystal gridding, jewelry, and putting under one's pillow at night for lucid dreaming and connecting with angels. They may be used for light code activation, as well as amplifying meditations. In my experience, they energetically and aesthetically pair famously well together with meteorites, moldavite and colombianite, as they can amplify the energy of these cosmic stones. Cleansing of Herkimer Diamonds is best done with distilled or flowing spring water, with sun or moonlight, grounding on the earth, and vibrational activation through various sound healing instruments (gong, tuning forks, crystal bowls, didgeridoo, etc.).
A handful of self-mined Herkimer Diamonds from Middleville, NY (via Oceanstone Collections).
It is our utmost pleasure to be able to mine for, work with, and offer these stones to the world. For us, the mining process is treated as a light code activation- bringing dormant earth DNA and wisdom to the light for the first time in 500 million years is an exhilirating process. It is also back-breaking, as any hard rock miner will tell you, one directly sacrifices and transmutes muscle fiber and protein to break the rock with sledge and wedge. The mining process has taught us so much- from how to read and listen to the rocks, the transfer of kinetic energy and acoustics, sacrafice, humility, reward, and a great deal of magic. It is almost as if the mountain and crystals have a consciousness of their own, bestowed with a sense of irony, and will reward you tantamount to your reverance and hard work- though not without strange and synchronisitc twists and turns. The salamanders know and hide in the cracks in the rocks, and guard entrances to larger surface pockets. Sometimes, a blood sacrifice must be made in order to find a bountiful crystal pocket. One can go days without finding a crystal, and in the precise moment of surrender and defeat, a crystal may appear out of nowhere, falling down through a crack or out of a rock and landing directly at your feet as if materializing through a portal, stoking you to keep digging. The list goes on. What I do know is that the mountain is sacred and has a consciousness of its own. To meet it and attempt to take its riches is no small feat. Herkimers are ascension stones for the people of planet earth, but the mountain does not give them up without sacrifice. What I tell people: there is no shortage of Herkimer Diamonds. They are abudant in that region. What there is a shortage of, and why the market price continues to increase, is people willing to work hard and energetically face this sacred mountain. Thankfully for us and the earth, Herkimer Diamonds are generally dug by hand, using no power or electric tools or machine, as large scale industrial or commercial machinery can easily fracture and break crystals. It is as if the ancient seabed, manifested as the hardest limestone on earth, protects these ancient crystals from the corruption and greed of man, and reserves them only for the deserving few.
