Hundreds of Diamonds Discovered at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, AR. photo by kthypryn | Flickr.com

Murfreesboro, Arkansas, holds many gems—literally. Out of the 52 state parks within Arkansas’s borders, the Crater of Diamonds State Park is considered one of the most precious. Tourists and visitors can journey into the 911-acre park to enjoy an afternoon picnic, take a stroll on the grounds, or dig for diamonds. Typically, at least 2 diamonds are found within the park every day.

Diamonds in the Rough

In 2013 alone, over 144 unique diamonds have been found by park visitors, 6 of which have weighed in at over 1 carat. The colors vary greatly from white to brown to yellow, with the largest diamond weighing in at 40.23 carats. Andrea Murphy recently visited the park with her family and walked out with a beautiful 2.10-carat brown diamond.

“The park received a number of washing rainstorms in March…A good hard rain will wash dirt away that may be covering the diamonds. So, when diamonds are on the surface of the field, they sparkle, and can be seen easily,” explained park interpreter Margi Jenks.

The park contains a 37 ½-acre plowed field with an eroded surface revealing the eighth-largest diamond-bearing deposit in the world. The Crater of Diamonds State Park exclusively holds the world’s only diamond-producing site that is open to the public. Finders-keepers is the active policy for diamond’s found by the visitors, so what’s found is theirs to keep. The same rule is maintained for the 40 other types of precious gems that visitors may find, including amethyst, garnet, peridot, jasper, agate, calcite, barite, and quartz.

Famous Unearthed Treasures

Several famous and beautiful diamonds have been excavated from the Crater. The nationally acclaimed 1.09-carat D-flawless Strawn-Wagner Diamond was discovered in 1990 by Arkansas native Shirley Strawn. Before being cut in 1997 by a world premier diamond-cutting company, Lazare Kaplan International of New York, the rough, white gem weighed 3.03 carats. It is the most perfect diamond to have been certified at the lab of the American Gem Society, and it is currently on display at the Crater of Diamonds State Park visitor center.

The internationally acclaimed 4.25-carat Kahn Canary diamond is an unblemished jewel that was found at the park in 1977. This uncut beauty has been exhibited throughout many cities within the U.S. and abroad. The Kahn Canary diamond was featured in an exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium, with other monumental precious stones from the Vatican, Cartier, Christies, and the Kremlin collection in 1997. Former first lady Hilary Clinton borrowed the diamond to wear at the galas of both of Bill Clinton’s presidential inaugurations.

Found a Diamond? Sell it for Cash!

Whether you bought your diamonds at the store or found them in the park, you can sell them to Cash for Diamonds USA for cash. We accept diamonds of all shapes and sizes, loose or set, and will pay you top dollar in return. To receive more information, contact CashforDiamondsUSA.com today.