Managing Scientist Of O'Brien & Gere Talks About Diamonds, Business, And History At Herkimer KOA In New York
Tina Bickerstaff, a New York native, first heard about Herkimer diamonds when she arrived at San Diego University to work on her degree in geology. “Someone asked me if I knew anything about the diamond mines in New York, and I thought they were kidding,” she told The Buzz. “There were no diamonds in New York.”
But a bit of research proved she was wrong.
So on her next trip home, she set out for Herkimer County in the Mohawk River Valley, where a unique deposit of crystals attracts mineral collectors to the region. While not actual diamonds, the Herkimer crystals are called diamonds thanks to their unique clarity and beauty. They are the world’s hardest quartz crystal, rated 7.5 on a scale where real diamonds are a 10, according to Bickerstaff.
“I took a quick run up to Herkimer for a day trip that first time,” Bickerstaff recalled. “I ended up staying a week.”
Tina admits to being enthralled by the double terminated stones which come out of the ground with 18 facets on each end, thanks to not being attached to an underlying matrix, like most crystals. The natural facets give the Herkimer stones the appearance of cut diamonds, she explained. “And they are so easy to mine. You’re walking along and find this beautiful gemstone right at your feet.”
The crystals are found loose in pockets in the 300 to 500 million year old dolomite stone that makes up the rock matrix in the Mohawk region. They were known and traded by Native American tribes who crafted arrowhead from the crystals. The local tribe called the region “Place of the Crystals.”
Bickerstaff, now Managing Scientist for O’Brien & Gere, an environmental services group based in Washington, D.C., has returned to Herkimer many time since, joining other rockhounds seeking to add a Herkimer diamond to their collections. The crystals are much prized for jewelry as well, while holistic healers claim the stones possess unique spiritual qualities. They range in size from micros to up to 8 inches in length, with most finds ? to 1 inch long.
While the Herkimers are found at several mines in the Mohawk Valley region, the largest and oldest is the Herkimer Diamond Mines, located along Route 28 north of the village of Herkimer. Dr. Renee Shevat has operated the family owned business, with includes the mines and a KOA resort across the street, since 1997. “My father bought the mines back in 1979, mostly as a hobby,” she told The Buzz. “I was headed for an academic career when he asked me to come up here for a year to analyse its potential to become a serious business. When I saw what the potential was, especially on the global stage, I never left.”
Today, Shevat travels annually to Hong Kong and Tokyo, where interest in Herkimer diamonds is high, and operates a global wholesale business. About 500 people a day come to search for diamonds at the surface mines, where the overlying rock has been removed to provide easier access to pockets of crystals. Prospectors receive use of a rock hammer with their admission fee, and get to keep everything they find. The season runs from April 15 to October 31 each year.
How much are Herkimer diamonds worth? Shevat said that value depends upon both size and quality. A 3-eighth inch crystal might start about $2 ranging up to $20 for top quality, while a top quality one-inch stone might be worth $200 or more.
Shevat said there’s a mining experience for every age group. “We have everyone from young kids, who are great at finding loose crystals, to 93-year-olds,” she said. If miners don’t want to crack rocks with a hammer, they can purchase a bag of dirt and use the sluice to wash out stones and fossils. Every find receives a free appraisal from experts, and an onsite activity center offers assistance in turning crystals into a necklace or other piece of jewelry.
The Herkimer Diamond Mines complex also includes a museum with exhibits explaining the geology that created the unique crystals, as well as a world-class display of Herkimer crystals plus other minerals and fossils. The largest jewelry store in upper New York State stocks gems from over 200 mines around the world, while across the street sits a unique KOA resort.
One of only eight facilities in the KOA system to receive the resort designation, the Herkimer Diamond Mines KOA is devoted to what Dr. Shevat calls “edutainment.” Accommodations set along West Canada Creek include cabins, tent sites, RV sites and themed luxury lodges, while activities include explorations of solar energy, light diffraction, fossils, and the scientific method. Several RV sites have their own organic gardens, reflecting Shevat’s interest in providing educational experiences for the whole family.
Three luxury lodges are off the grid, powered entirely by solar panels. Other themed accommodations include the Astronomy Lodge, with its own telescope, and the Robotics Lodge, stuffed with high-tech features, plus Apple Orchard, Japanese Tea Garden, and Paleontology lodges. The 2016 season saw the debut of the Treehouse Lodge with a mining theme, complete with copper sinks, mining equipment and hammocks, and the Miner’s Table, a restaurant featuring steaks and “herki-tinis,” cocktails made of vodka purified using Herkimer crystals.
Dr. Shevat helped found Gems Along the Mohawk, a unique visitor center located at exit 30 off the New York Thruway in the town of Herkimer, at the intersection of the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal. In addition to shopping for products from 70 local businesses, visitors can take a riverboat cruise through the Eire locks or dine overlooking the river, before heading to the diamond mines.
But, according to Tina Bickerstaff, miners at Herkimer may be overlooking one of the region’s greatest treasures, the fossils of stromatolites, one of the earth’s oldest living creatures, credited with releasing the first free oxygen. “These algae were responsible for making all subsequent life on earth possible. It’s awe-inspiring,” Bickerstaff said. “And they take a beautiful polish.”
Renee Wright
A graduate of Franconia College in Social Psychology, Renee has worked as Travel Editor for Charlotte Magazine and has written three travel guidebooks for Countryman Press among other writing assignments. She enjoys food and camping.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Herkimer Diamond Mines KOA, where along with a wide variety of camping options, their beautiful facility borders the West Canada Creek. This offers their guests world class trout fishing, tubing, and other recreational activities right on the property!