Story highlights
A Louisiana man finds a 2-carat diamond in an Arkansas state park
Crater of Diamonds is the only public diamond search site in the world
Can a prayer for diamonds actually turn up a gem?
That’s unless you’re visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.
That’s where Dean Filppula, an offshore steward from Shreveport, Louisiana, found a yellow 2.01-carat diamond last week.
Visitors get to keep what they find at the state park’s 37.5-acre search field, which is named for an ancient eruption that scattered the area with gems.
The sparkling wedge-shaped stone is about the size of an English pea, park interpreter Waymon Cox said in a news release. It’s the largest stone of the 20 found this year, he said.
“More than half an inch of rain had fallen two days before his visit, washing loose soil from the surface of the diamond search area, and, no doubt, uncovering the large, yellow gem,” Cox said. “Anyone could have found it, but Mr. Filppula was in the right place at the right time.”
Filppula, who plans to sell the diamond, named it the Merf Diamond after his mother’s initials.
It’s not clear how much the diamond is worth, and park officials aren’t trained to appraise them, according to the park website. But Oklahoman Tara Clymer sold a 3.85-carat diamond she found at the park last year for $20,000.
50 states, 50 spots: Natural wonders
Park staff regularly plow the area to bring more diamonds to the surface for visitors to discover.
The 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, the nation’s largest diamond, was found in 1924, and the “perfect” 3.03-carat Strawn-Wagner diamond was found in 1990. The Strawn-Wagner Diamond was cut in 1997 by the renowned diamond firm Lazare Kaplan International of New York. The now 1.09-carat diamond is on display at the park visitor center.
The park stretches for more than 900 acres along the Little Missouri River, but the diamond field is the main attraction. More than 75,000 diamonds have been discovered there since farmer John Huddleston discovered gems on what was then his property in 1906.