Except for a good cleaning, the Herkimer crystals on this web site are in the same condition as when they were found; Natural. There are two possible conditions other than natural: Reconstructed, and Repaired.

1) Reconstructed: Crystal-to-crystal: crystals have been glued to their original contact points. Each piece fits to one location and only one location, on another crystal. Think of it as a three-dimensional, crystal jigsaw puzzle. It is very unusual to remove an intact cluster of 3 or more crystals from a pocket or a vug. Although crystals create imprints on nearby crystals as they grow (contacts), they often create too loose of a bond to stay intact (for they are very old), so we use "Epoxy 330" to reconstruct these clusters. Crystal-to-matrix: crystals have been glued to their original contact with the matrix. The most common way for this condition to occur is when the crystal has broken, leaving a "footprint" on the matrix, thus, becoming a repair. This is not a very common condition with our crystals. Generally speaking, if the crystal falls off the matrix, we leave it off. Matrix-to-matrix: the matrix has split and been glued to provide a full foundation for the cluster. This is a very rare condition of reconstruction for Herks.com.

You should assume that clusters on this website have at least one glued bond of crystal-to-crystal, otherwise, we will say natural cluster. Reconstructing is very labor intensive when done correctly, the way we do it. Still, a reconstructed cluster is trumped by the natural cluster.

2) Repaired: Damage to crystals happens "naturally" over time. Earthquakes, glaciers, and tectonic plate shifts are all natural earth movements that have occurred since the crystals were formed many millions of years ago. And admittedly, the process and tools of "liberating" crystals can be rather violent causing unintentional damage to them. So, for the select, well deserving crystals, the pieces are assembled, a dry fitting is done, then glued with "Epoxy 330". Often, repairs can't be detected without magnification. Sometimes the repair is quite obvious, but deemed necessary (increasing the Overall Appeal). We try to mention all repairs but no guarantee they are all accounted for. On occasion, even we can't tell if a repair has been made. If in doubt, please ask. We do our best to accurately describe our crystal condition.

With the above in mind, a natural cluster (no breaks, no detachments) is a very rare item and will be priced accordingly. Most will be placed on the "Top Shelf".