{"id":12018,"date":"2023-01-09T03:00:25","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T11:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rockngem.com\/?p=12018"},"modified":"2023-01-09T06:46:16","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T14:46:16","slug":"enchanting-herkimer-diamond-hunts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rockngem.com\/enchanting-herkimer-diamond-hunts\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunting Herkimer Diamonds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning! Hunting Herkimer diamonds can be addictive! Do you remember the moment you fell in love, and it honestly changed your life? Ed Halleran of Herkimer, New York certainly does.<\/p>\n

It was 1983, he was in his early 30s, and it was a photograph of something he could only describe as \u201cincredibly beautiful.\u201d The picture\u2019s subject was a Herkimer “diamond”, which is actually a doubly terminated quartz crystal. And Halleran was not only hooked but he was smitten.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of things in my 68 years, but I still have never seen anything quite like the first sign of a Herkimer diamond as it\u2019s coming out of the ground,\u201d Halleran said.<\/p>\n

Evolution of a Herkimer “Diamond” Fan<\/h2>\n

\"\"To say he\u2019s seen a lot may even be a bit of an understatement. As a military veteran, former owner and operator of a restaurant specializing in pizza, over-the-road truck driver through which he earned membership in the national Million-Mile Driver club, owner of thoroughbred horses, a husband, father, and rockhound, that\u2019s a lot of roles in which to gain life experience.<\/p>\n

Each step in the journey has had its purpose, even if he didn\u2019t know it at the time, Halleran recalled. Now, after more than 30 years, he\u2019s revisiting \u2014 in a big way \u2014 that early love, Herkimer diamonds.<\/p>\n

Reviving a Passion for Herkimer Quartz “Diamond”<\/h2>\n

For the past several decades, he\u2019s had a staggering collection of Herkimer specimens of a variety of shapes and colors, sitting in the basement of his home. To quantify staggering\u201d it\u2019s estimated to be 1.5 million carats of double-terminated quartz crystals. The crystals are named after a location where they are found, Herkimer County, New York and the surrounding area. However, New York is not the only place to find these quartz crystals<\/a>. Examples have been discovered in Arizona, Norway, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, among other locales.<\/p>\n

\"\"Many of the crystals in his collection were stored in buckets, and some in boxes, and all are the product of a passion for diamonds. It\u2019s a passion that, at one time, led him to seek out digging adventures wherever he could. Whether that meant an entire day at the Herkimer Diamond Development, or a few minutes spent in a rut looking for geological treasures on the side of the highway in Utah. Among his most fond memories of the years, he spent actively digging for diamonds, were those he spent in the company of his fellow rockhounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Big George, he was an engineer, and Diamond Jim, the school teacher, Boston Jimmy, a geologist, Pocket Dale, the philosopher, Edge 111, the author, and myself,\u201d Halleran recalled. \u201cWe met in Field #2 at the Herkimer Diamond Development, and from there, we became friends and kind of a community of rockhounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe each developed our own digging techniques, we\u2019d share knowledge about the ancient seabed that was once the field, we\u2019d discuss all sorts of topics, and a lot of the time after we\u2019d spend the day digging, we\u2019d go to Bev\u2019s Diner, which was near the field, and we\u2019d talk some more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rockhounding Forms Lasting Memories<\/h2>\n

The \u201cfellas of field number two\u201d weren\u2019t the only memorable people Halleran met and \"\"learned from during his years of prolific digging. Groups of children visiting the mine during school trips also had a big impact, he added. Halleran recalled one day in particular, when a busload of children arrived at the property, while Halleran and friends were prospecting. As the children came up, Halleran recalled, he put down his hammer and greeted the students who wore kid-size eye protection with small hammers in hand. A couple of the men used a prybar to lift a section of rock they had been working to break open, which revealed a cavity sparkling with crystals.<\/p>\n

\"hunting-herkimer-diamonds\"
Pin this post to save this information for later.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe children were like a flock of seagulls swarming the rock, and we work to make sure each one was able to pick up one piece to put in their collection baggies \u2014 because each child was able to keep what they found.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the greatest day I had in the mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

As happens in life, sometimes, the fellow rockhounds of the group each followed their paths, and ultimately the meetups became less, and as years have gone on, they\u2019ve lost touch, and some have passed away, Halleran said. But, the memories are still there, he added. Those memories are part of what has come alive as he\u2019s spent the last couple of years unpacking, sorting, and organizing the Herkimer diamonds of his collection.<\/p>\n

To answer the question of why is he now unpacking the treasures he accumulated all those years ago, Halleran said, he\u2019s not certain, except that he is.<\/p>\n

Seeking to Share Herkimer Treasures With Others<\/h2>\n

\u201cI wish I had some intelligent reason I could tell you as to why now, but I can only say NOW is the right time,\u201d added Halleran, who has worked with Marcus Boehm to create a video about his collection, which can be found on his website, www.herkimerrockstar.com. View the video below…<\/p>\n