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Arkansas woman finds a 3.69-carat diamond in Arkansas state park
Crater of Diamonds is the planet's only public diamond search site
When fields get plowed, diamonds don’t usually pop up.
When you’re exploring the fields at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, the odds are higher than usual.
“Are you going to bless me and let me find a diamond today?” That was Susie Clark’s prayer on April 23, according to the state park service.
Soon after, Clark, who is from Evening Shade, Arkansas, saw a 3.69-carat white, teardrop-shaped diamond in the plowed field. Inspired by her prayer, Clark named it the Hallelujah Diamond. She plans to keep it.
The diamond, which is the largest found at the park so far this year, is about the size of a pinto bean, says park interpreter Waymon Cox. “And it’s the largest one found since April 16, 2014, when a 6.19-carat white diamond, named the Limitless Diamond, was found at the park,” he said, according to a park press release.
It’s the 122nd diamond found at Crater of Diamonds this year.
It’s finders, keepers at the state park’s 37-acre search field, which is named for an ancient eruption that littered the area with gems. The area, which became a state park in 1972, is the only public site in the world where – for a small fee – you can dig for diamonds and keep them.
The area, which became a state park in 1972, is the only public site in the world where – for a small fee – anyone can dig for diamonds and keep them.
It’s not clear how much Filppula will get for the diamond, and park officials aren’t trained to appraise them, according to the park website. But Oklahoma Tara Clymer found a 3.85-carat diamond in 2013 and sold it last year for $20,000.
A CNN 50 states pick: Crater of Diamonds
Before Filppula’s find, park staff had plowed the area to bring more diamonds to the surface for visitors to find.
The 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, the nation’s largest diamond, was found in 1924. The “perfect” 3.03-carat Strawn-Wagner diamond was found in 1990, and a man discovered the white 6.19-carat Limitless Diamond in April.
The park stretches for more than 900 acres along the Little Missouri River, but the hunt in the diamond field is the big draw. More than 75,000 diamonds have been discovered there since farmer John Huddleston discovered gems on what was then his property in 1906.