From our customers
Diamond Hill Quartz

July 09, 2008
by Chet Karwoski

The Diamond Hill Quartz Prospect is located near Antreville, South Carolina, about halfway between Anderson and Abbeville. Quartz crystals are plentiful there. Early history is sketchy, but it appears that local people found crystals there over 100 yrs ago, and this is probably how the name arose -- the crystals sparkled like diamonds!

The most common type of quartz crystals are milky white or translucent. Both types can have the typical quartz crystal shape, or they can be "skeletal". Skeletal crystals look sort of like a skeleton of a quartz crystal, such that the corners and edges are in the correct places, but the flat sides are indented.

Most visitors to Diamond Hill also find some smoky quartz or amethyst. These are certainly less plentiful, but they can be large (up to four inches and longer).

Most crystals at Diamond Hill have coatings on the sufaces. If a coating is yellow, tan, brown or orange, then it consists of some type of iron oxide. If a coating is black, then it is manganese oxide (probably pyrolusite). The coatings can be removed by soaking the crystals in oxalic acid or Super Iron Out. However, most people find the coatings attractive, and they give the specimens a unique and charming appearance. A cluster of white quartz crystals can look boring without the colorful coatings, so we advise removing the coating only if it is patchy and unattractive. You can see examples of Diamond Hill crystals with attractive coatings at Quartz_Crystal_Clusters.

Amethyst and smoky quartz crystals from Diamond Hill are also usually coated. In these cases, it is best to remove the coating, because only then can the smoky or purple color of the crystals be seen easily and appreciated.

If you want more information about Diamond Hill, or would like to visit, you can get more information at www.gamineral.org/commercial-diamondhill.htm. This website also shows many photos of Diamond Hill and its crystal specimens.

Chet Karwoski
Diamond Hill Quartz
www.gamineral.org/commercial-diamondhill.htm

Great South Gems & Minerals, Inc. www.greatsouth.net 38 Bond Drive Ellenwood, Georgia 30294 USA 1-888-933-GEMS (4367) FAX 770-474-4507