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By Racheli Fuld, Content WriterThe Crater of Diamond State Park in Arkansas is the only diamond source on the planet that is open to the public. For a nominal fee, one can try his or her luck at this state park where quite a few lucky individuals have been fortunate enough to unearth significantly sized diamonds. Just recently, Gail Hudson, a St. Louis resident, discovered a 1.8-carat tea-colored diamond. The trip to the Arkansas park in honor of her birthday as well as her travel partner’s proved to be a success thanks to this brilliant find.
The Story
Gail Hudson from St. Louis, Missouri, and her travel partner, Pam Warmack, decided to make the trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park in honor of both of their birthdays, after having known about the park’s existence for quite some time. After arriving at the park on April 22 and purchasing two tickets to the enormous grounds, the two began their search for the glittering and beloved diamonds that were hiding in the surface of a volcanic crater, which has been known to be diamond producing. Most individuals who are fortunate enough to leave the park with full hands do so after having spent hours upon hours if not days searching for the tiny treasures. However, it only took Gail five minutes to take notice of something shimmering from beneath the dirt. Though the stone did not look quite like a diamond one sees in a store, she just knew it was different because it wasn’t like the other rocks and it felt different too. After trying her hand at finding additional stones, Gail took her diamond find to the Diamond Discovery Center where her stone was confirmed to be a genuine diamond.
The Diamond Find
Gail’s light brown diamond is the 176th diamond to be found at the park this year and one of 13 to be found upon the ground’s surface. The brown diamond is the largest of its kind to be found in the past two years and the largest discovered in the park since September when a visitor from Missouri uncovered a 2.29-carat colorless diamond.
Plans for the Diamond
While some people who have found diamonds in the park chose to sell them to the highest bidders, others have chosen to keep the gemstones for themselves. That is precisely what Gail Hudson has decided to do. Surprisingly enough though, she prefers to leave the diamond uncut and have it mounted onto a piece of jewelry.
Those planning to try their luck at this unique location should be aware that although plenty of diamonds have been found over the years including a 6.19-carat diamond, an 8.52-carat diamond, and a 2.01-carat yellow diamond, not every $5 admission ticket ends up including a diamond find worth thousands. In any case, searching for diamonds can be an experience of a lifetime, with or without a lucky find.
2.02 carat, Fancy Deep Brownish Greenish Yellow Diamond, Emerald Shape, VS2 Clarity, GIA
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0.73 carat, Fancy Deep Brownish Yellowish Orange Diamond, Heart Shape, SI2 Clarity, GIA
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