1.15" Pakimer Diamond with Inclusions - Pakistan

Pakimer diamonds aren't diamonds at all, but instead are quartz crystals that were collected from Pakistan. The name is a derivative of "Herkimer diamonds", which were originally described from Herkimer, New York. They resemble Herkimer diamonds in that many are double terminated and beautifully clear, but Pakimer diamonds have their own appealing characteristics. Many Pakimer diamonds contain black inclusions that are likely carbon, as well as fluorescent petroleum oil inclusions.

Quartz is the name given to silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich environments--usually igneous rocks or hydrothermal environments like geothermal waters--at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. In either case, crystals will precipitate as temperatures cool, just as ice gradually forms when water freezes. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountain formation: these veins can be hundreds of millions of years old.