This site is the starter home for Herks.com. We are excited about it and hope you find some surprises here too. We see this site as a place for independent Herkimer Diamond miners, collectors, and jewelry makers to show and sell their Herks, to provide a forum for sharing mining stories, hot dig locations, maybe a Q&A, and other Herk related topics. We got the site going, but it will take your contribution to make it a really good site. And we're excited about that too.

If you have Herks to sell or consign, if you make jewelry or adornments from Herks, if you know of a good dig location that can be shared with discrete miners (wink), if you're in the market for a really nice Herk specimen, we want to hear from you.

ABOUT US

Family vacation in 1996: Paul hit his first Herkimer Diamond pocket and has been mining them ever since. Early spring through late fall he can be found swinging a sledge hammer, setting steel, and barring rock to uncover the next pocket of Herkimer Diamonds (Mining Herks) . During the winter, old tools are refreshed, new tools are being developed . When not mining, he might be found cleaning, sorting, reconstructing, or trimming the Herks. Paul is the photographer for the Herks.com store too. By profession, a restoration carpenter. Paul often restores old houses with a quality and precision that hasn't been seen since the homes were first built.

Family vacation in 1996: Shell was there when Paul hit his first pocket and got the honor of emptying the vug, the first of many to come. Shell believes that Herkimer Diamonds are an under appreciated quartz variety, different than other quartz varieties in so many ways. "Herks are great! Ancient formations from a time I can only imagine."

Shell takes the on-site photos for Herks.Com, is the developer of this web site, and most recently paints and refinishes old woodwork. "Removing the aged layers of finish from woodwork and finding the beauty of old hardwood, maybe oak or chestnut or cherry, is very much like removing the rock layers off of the pocket and exposing the prize of crystal."

You can visit us at our "day jobs" here: www.OldHouseTrim.com