Your favorite team of jewelers was at it once again this summer. After two successful trips, George Press, owner of George Press Jewelers and Master Jeweler, Brian Swingle, Jeweler and Watch Specialist, Richard Bolen, Graduate Gemologist, GIA and Christian Richart, Graduate Gemologist, GIA, decided to embark on a new adventure, this time at the famed Herkimer mines in upstate New York.
The world renowned Herkimer diamonds are not actually diamonds, but double-terminated quartz crystals with incredible clarity. Double-point quartz crystals may be found in sites around the world, but only those mined in Herkimer County can be given this name. These incredible crystals began forming about 500 million years ago in a shallow sea which was receiving sediments from the ancient Adirondack Mountains to the north.
Brian was in awe from the moment he arrived. “It was incredible to see how Mother Nature forms things. It was an amazing experience. Everyone there had a sense of comradery. We were all sharing tips and had the common ground of whether or not you found something!”
Compared to the miners’ previous trips up to Maine, the Herkimer mines were above ground surface mines. These incredible stones could be hiding right in front of you!
Christian’s careful work with melee diamonds at the store gave him the perfect practice – and patience for foraging on the ground. He kept it slow and steady, tweezers in hand, with a keen eye for a glint of something shiny.
Brian and Richard were a little more adventurous with their mining techniques. While most Herkimer diamonds occur within openings in the host rock called “vugs,” when there are a lot of crystals in one spot it is called a “pocket.” Brian and Richard pounded away on countless rocks in hopes of finding a coveted pocket.
And while they did not find one of their own, they did take advantage of one that had already been opened by a previous miner. “Crawling in the pocket was fun, but you definitely had to get used to it,” said Richard. “You couldn’t see inside so you had to really use your sense of touch to work around the clay to find the crystal. Getting into that pocket was the highlight of the trip for me.”
In fact, days after they returned to the store Brian and Richard realized that they had each found two ends of a crystal that fit together!
“It was a great experience for all of us,” George commented smiling. “We spent about 6-7 hours each day mining, but this time you could choose how intense you wanted to work. And no matter which technique you used from day to day, we all came back with something.”
As with the previous trips it was a great bonding experience for George, Brian, Richard and Christian. They enjoyed the foraging, but also enjoyed the relaxation afterwards at their cabin. “It was a family experience for us,” said George.
In fact, while there they met a mother and son that spend a lot of quality time together at the Herkimer mines. In addition to exchanging pleasantries and trading stones, they created a pair of wire wrapped earrings for the mother using stones she had mined herself! Happy early Mother’s Day to her!
In the midst of their mining adventures, George, Brian, Richard and Christian may have made yet another George Press Jewelers customer for life.