The Story Of Cape May Diamonds
September 24th, 2008
In Cape May, New Jersey, at Sunset Beach on the shore of Delaware Bay you can see
the sunken wreck of the World War One concrete ship, Atlantus. She lies there, half
submerged, a few hundred feet offshore. The weather worn wreck is all that remains
of an experimental World War I concrete freighter. She was towed there in 1926 to
be intentionally sunk as a breakwater and protection for the entrance to the then
new, Cape May Canal. During a sudden storm on Delaware Bay, she broke free of
the towboats and was washed into the shallow water a mile or more west of her
intended resting place near the Canal.
As it happens, this un-natural, man-made barrier is the happy accident that makes
Cape May Diamonds available to you. Here is what we believe to be the origin of
these unique Cape May Diamonds:
It has been estimated the journey of a Cape May Diamond begins when some quartz
rocks fall from a Pennsylvania mountain into the Delaware River. This is thought to
happen at or near Delaware Water Gap, in the upper reaches of Delaware River.
Over time, the pebbles are washed, ever so slowly, past: Trenton, Palmyra, Camden
and Philadelphia and finally to the broad reaches of the shallow, muddy Delaware
Bay.
Here, on the pebble-filled shoreline of Sunset Beach, you can search for Cape May
Diamonds. What you will find are clear quartz crystals that, after being polished,
look like diamonds to the untrained eye. It is believed that the sunken ship has
become a barrier that diverts the tides and currents carrying the Cape May
Diamonds from the mountains of Pennsylvania toward the Atlantic Ocean. In this
way, the journey of the quartz pebbles is changed and they are washed ashore here
instead of flowing into the nearby ocean. Scientists estimate it can take over 1,000
years for a pebble to move approximately 200 miles, from the mountains of
Pennsylvania to its final resting place on Sunset Beach, in Cape May New Jersey.
The largest Cape May Diamond ever found weighed almost eight ounces. Nearby gift
shops sell polished Cape May Diamonds, but it’s more fun to search the beaches
around Cape May for your own “diamonds.” Buff them to a shine and you’ll dupe
your friends at home into thinking you’ve hit the mother lode.
About the Author:
Terry Weber is a retired advertising/direct mail sales letter copywriter and
inventor of several useful items. Terry and his wife Doris are Habitat For
Humanity, RV Care-A- Vanners who, for the past eight years have volunteered to
help build more than 39 houses all over the USA. They travel to and from the 2-
week long builds in their RV. The money they make on their Crafty-Ones website
helps them pay their expenses to and from those volunteer Habitat builds.
http://www.originalsbyweber.com
http://www.webermaskman.com
http://www.crafty-ones.com/web/viewproduct.asp?prodID=2414
Entry Filed under: Great Jewelry Tips