Almost everyone in the world knows what a diamond is: a beautiful gem made over millions of years from hardened carbon, the hardest substance on earth, and, of course, a girl’s best friend.The diamond market is hotter than ever, with auctions being held all around the world on a regular basis, with large and expensive diamonds being bought and sold for small fortunes. More than $6 million was spent recently on a 101-carat flawless diamond at a Hong Kong auction!
While this can be exciting to watch, not everyone has small fortunes lying around that they can use to spend on a diamond.
A number of ways exist for them still to get in on the action, however. The first way is by purchasing a consumer grade diamond, perhaps for a ring, necklace, or earrings, and not something quite as extravagant as the large blue diamond that recently sold for millions and was set into a tiara because it was so large. The second way is by taking a trip to an actual diamond field.
You don’t have to go all the way to Africa to find a diamond mine though. To find a diamond in the United States all you have to do is take a trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. This is the only diamond mine in the world that allows you to keep all the diamonds that you find. In 2007, there were more than a thousand diamonds found
Crater of Diamonds State Park is a 911-acre park, with the crater where people search for diamonds being about 37 acres. Nearly every color of diamond can be found here. The most common colors visitors come across are white, yellow, and brown.
John Huddleston, the farmer who owned the property, found the first diamond there in 1906. The land served as a tourist attraction from 1951 to 1972, and was purchased by the State of Arkansas in 1972. They continued the tourist operation under the name Crater of Diamonds State Park, as it is still known.
A number of notable diamonds have been found at the site. Among them are the Bleeding Heart Diamond (6.23 carat), the Cooper Diamond (6.72 carat), and a large diamond found in 2007 by visitor Chad Johnson. The diamond Johnson found measured at 4.38 carats.
Another notable diamond that is attached to the Crater of Diamonds State Park is actually a fake. In 2007, a visitor claimed they found the 3-carat diamond on the land, but it was determined later to be a fake salted diamond from India.
Any diamonds that a visitor finds on their land are theirs to keep, and they can even have them identified by staff at the park. They will identify all the rocks and minerals you find completely free of charge. The diamonds are even weighed and certified. There are also a number of period buildings and a Diamond Discovery Center at the park, so you can learn more about diamonds in general as well as the history of the area.
If visitors don’t have a clue about how to find a diamond or even what an uncut diamond looks like, there is no need to fear. You can learn all you need to start hunting diamonds right at the park, and you can even rent some of the material (screens, shovels, buckets, etc.) that are needed to mount a real hunt.
You also need to know what you are looking for when you being digging for these diamonds. Most of the diamonds found at the park are rounded, smooth, and feel as though they have an oily film on them (which keeps dirt from clinging to them). They look something like a polished stone, are translucent but not clear, and can be overlooked if you don’t know what you are holding. When in doubt, hold onto it and ask one of the staff members to help you identify it.
They are quite small, as most of the diamonds found there are only a few millimeters across. They are measured in points. 100 points are in a carat, and it is possible to find diamonds of one carat and larger at the park. However, typical finds are a bit smaller, closer to a quarter of a carat.
While you might not strike it rich at the diamond mine and find something as large and luxurious as the Hope Diamond or one of the diamonds that sold at auction recently, you have a good chance of finding a one of a kind gem. It might not be the diamond that your special someone wants on their finger, and you will likely still be buying a commercial diamond ring, but for many, this will hold more sentimental value than any diamond sold at auction!
Other articles of interest:
