'Cape May Diamonds': The Story Behind The Shiny Stones

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CAPE MAY, N.J. (CBS) - Did you know you can find "diamonds" while strolling the beach in Cape May? Not real diamonds, but sparkling gems that line the coastline.

Some go to the beach to scour for seashells, but the visitors at Sunset Beach come for something a bit more sparkly.

"I usually take a bag full of them home every summer. I have containers in my living room filled with Cape May Diamonds," said beachgoer Elaine.

The Cape May Diamonds are actually pure quartz crystal. The stones continuously come ashore this pebbly beach at Cape May Point via the upper reaches of the Delaware River.

"A trip to Cape May is not a trip unless you come and see the diamonds," said Jeanette Bartelemeo, who has spent decades picking up the pebbles. "If you look by the water's edge, they are translucent so they are easy to see through. They come in all different shapes. It depends on the current, wind, the force of the water...the bigger sizes come in, but there are always diamonds down here."

Bartelemeo manages the Sunset Beach Gift Shop where you can buy some of these shiny souvenirs.

"We have earrings, pendants, the bottles, all kinds of things, so much stuff," said Bartelemeo. "This is what we found on the beach. This is after three weeks in the rock tumbler. The better ones are sent to the rock cutter and they facet them. So this is what they turn out like!"

You can even pick up a tumbler and make them on your own.

So next time you're searching the sand, maybe you'll find your own diamond in the rough.