A Kentucky man unearthed a 2.95-carat brown diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro on Thursday.
The diamond, which the man named “the Patriot Diamond,” is the largest he’s found in his 28 years of visits to the park. And it’s the largest of 304 diamonds found by park visitors this year, according to a park news release.
Terry Staggs of Richmond, Ky., had been searching the East Drain section of the 37.5-acre diamond search area for two and a half hours when he spotted the champagne brown diamond reflecting sunlight in the gravel.
“Because of their color, brown diamonds are often difficult to find in the dark dirt of the diamond search area,” park interpreter Waymon Cox said. “However, sunny weather conditions on July 4th were perfect for this sparkler to catch Mr. Staggs’ attention as he searched.”
The diamond is pea-sized and shield-shaped, Cox said. Staggs will get to keep the diamond, according to park policy. The park is the only publicly accessible diamond-producing site in the world.
Visitors find about two diamonds a day at the park. The largest diamond ever unearthed there was the 40.23-carat “Uncle Sam” white diamond in 1924.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 07/09/2013