Visitor finds record-sized diamond at Arkansas state park

A visitor to an Arkansas state park discovered a record-sized gem, according to officials.

The 3.29-carat brown diamond found by David Anderson at Crater of Diamond’s State Park is the biggest diamond found there since September 2021.

Mr Anderson says that he found the diamond on 4 March while sifting through soil in the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area.

“At first I thought it was quartz but wondered why it was so shiny. Once I picked it up, I realised it was a diamond,” he said.

Mr Anderson says he first started coming to the park in 2006 after seeing it featured on The Travel Channel.

He has found more than 400 diamonds since then including a 3.83-carat yellow diamond in December 2011 and a 6.19-carat white gem in April 2014.

Visitors who find gems at the park normally give them a name, and Mr Anderson says that his latest find is called “BUD.”

“That’s for Big, Ugly, Diamond,” said Mr Anderson, who plans to sell the diamond which is a mottled brown colour.

“Anderson’s diamond is about the size of an English pea, with a light brown colour and octahedron shape,” park interpreter Tayler Markham said.

“It has a metallic shine typical of all diamonds found at the park, with a partially resorbed surface and lots of inclusions.”

In September 2021, a visitor from California discovered a 4.38-carat yellow diamond at the site, while Mr Anderson’s is the largest brown diamond since the 9.07-carat Kinard Friendship Diamond was found in 2020.

Officials say that 24 diamonds have been registered at the park so far this year, with an average of one or two found each day by visitors.