In an incredible turn of events, a man from Arkansas went on an excursion to one of the more famous state parks called the Crater of Diamonds State Park. But what he couldn’t have fathomed was that he was going to unearth a dazzling 4.87-carat diamond.
The park allows anyone to come through its many hills and ditches to search for such treasures, which is exactly what Jerry Evans from Lepanto decided to do that day in the spring of 2023.
Within just ten minutes of his walk, Evans noticed what he believed was just a piece of glass on top of a plowed ridge and decided to pick it up and put it in his pocket. Little did he know that it was going to be one remarkable discovery.
“I thought it might be a piece of glass, it was so clear. I really didn’t know. We were picking up everything thinking it was a diamond,” Evans said.
Following a hunch that what he found was more than just a little piece of glass, he decided to send the stone to a Gemological Institute of America to help him figure out whether it was just some broken glass, or actually something more relevant.
Then a few weeks later, he got the incredible news that it was truly more than just a white piece of rock sitting on the ground, but rather, a near-colorless diamond.
Evans shared, “When they called and told me it was real, I was tickled to death!”
“While I get many emails from people wanting me to identify something they’ve found here, to my recollection, this is the first time someone has contacted me after they’ve had a diamond identified by the GIA. I’m glad that Mr. Evans was able to bring his historic diamond back to the park to have it officially registered,” said Assistant Park Superintendent Waymon Cox.
According to the park administration, Evans’ diamond is the largest find at the park since that of Kevin Kinard of Maumelle. Kinard’s find was a 9.07-carat brown diamond, which he had discovered during Labor Day weekend of 2020.
Cox added, “Mr. Evans’ diamond is spectacular to see. It’s a complete crystal with a brilliant white color reminiscent of many other large, white diamonds I’ve seen from here in the past.”
With over 75,000 diamonds unearthed on its premises, his discovery stood out as the largest colorless gem discovered in recent history, surpassing that of Kinard. Just last year alone, 125 carats worth of diamonds were registered at the park.
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