A 4.38 Carat Yellow Diamond Found At Crater Of Diamonds State Park
The yellow diamond was just sitting there on top of the ground for anyone to find!
Now that statement is hard to believe but is the truth. Noreen Wredberg of Granite Bay, California and her husband were at the mine in Murfreesboro, Arkansas for less than an hour when she happened to stumble upon the gem that was just lying there on the dirt reflecting beams of light outward from the sunshine that beaming down on the ground and that's what caught her attention.
The discovery was made on the morning of Thursday, September 23. The couple had been searching for diamonds at the mine entrance under some shade but Noreen's husband suggested they move out to the middle of the field where it was warmer and thankfully she listened to his suggestion. According to Arkansas State Park, Noreen says,
I didn’t know it was a diamond then, but it was clean and shiny, so I picked it up!'
The couple took their find back to the park's Diamond Discovery Center where they helped to identify the shiny stone. After examining it underneath a microscope, Park Superintendent Caleb Howell said,
When I first saw this diamond under the microscope, I thought, ‘Wow, what a beautiful shape and color!’ Mrs. Wredberg’s diamond weighs more than four carats and is about the size of a jellybean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow color.'
The gem weighed in at 4.38 karats and is the largest diamond found at the park within the last year, however, they don't know what the yellow diamond is valued at just yet.
So if you're thinking about going on a diamond hunt, know this: the parks' staff plows the search area regularly to loosen up the soil, and apparently one of the best times to search for diamonds is after a good rain, which was the case for Noreen. As of this writing, 258 diamonds have been discovered in 2021 at Crater of Diamonds State Park weighing more than 46 carats. Park officials say that on the average one to two diamonds are found each day.
You can go on your very own diamond hunt at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, AR, it's a little more than three-hour drive from Tyler.