Nature by Design
Ever heard of a Herkimer diamond?
Nope, not actual diamonds. Herkimers are simply one type of quartz crystal. The world abounds in quartz. But Herkimers are special and cool and unusual - they have two terminations. Instead of growing out of a rock and having one pointy end, they have two pointy ends. They are found only (so far) in the Mohawk River Valley in New York State and are named for Herkimer County.
Herkimers can be used in jewelry-making, but for my money, leave them in their natural state. The best presentation is "in the matrix," meaning that the crystal is kept in the rock in which it is found. Many times the crystals are trapped in the rock and often are loose (since they are not growing from the rock).
I own several Herkimers and my favorites are still in the matrix. As clear crystals, Herkimers aren't as showy as, say, amethysts (which are single-terminated, by the way), but I love the simple little treasures of nature.