Grandmother Finds Huge Diamond In State Park

Plenty of people head to Arkansas's Crater of Diamonds State Park with the hope of walking off with a precious gem, but not many people do. However, a 71-year-old grandmother from Colorado not only found herself a diamond, but a huge one at that. The woman, who wants to stay anonymous, stumbled upon a 2.63-carat ice white diamond after spending ten minutes searching. 

She told the media, "I was using a rock to scrape the dirt but don't know if I uncovered the diamond with it or not. It was just lying on the surface!" She didn't even realize that she had found something valuable either until she and her family took their finds to the park's Diamond Discovery Center and they showed her the diamond. The woman stated, "I didn’t know what to think. I was shocked!"

A park employee explained, "About one out of every five diamonds registered by park visitors is found right on top of the ground, including many of the largest ever found at the Crater of Diamonds." He also described the grandma's find, saying, "This white diamond is about the size of a pinto bean and is shaped somewhat like a fingernail. Several brownish, freckle-like marks along the surface give the gem a unique, one-of-a-kind appearance." There's no word yet on what it's worth. 

Since Crater of Diamonds became a state park in 1972, more than 33,100 diamonds have been found by visitors to the Arkansas attraction.

Photo Credit: Getty