Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The three most common colors found at Crater of Diamonds State Park are white, brown and yellow, in that order.
A regular visitor to Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park recently discovered a 3.29-carat brown diamond in his wet-sifted gravel. It is the largest diamond found at the park this year and the largest since September 2021.
David Anderson, of Murfreesboro, spotted the gem on Saturday, March 4, while wet-sifting soil from the West Drain of the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area. “At first I thought it was quartz but wondered why it was so shiny,” said Anderson. “Once I picked it up, I realized it was a diamond!”
Anderson has found more than 400 diamonds over the past 16 years, including 15 weighing over one carat. His other top finds include a 3.83-carat yellow diamond found in December 2011 and a 6.19-carat white gem discovered in April 2014.
Finders of Crater diamonds often choose to name their gems. Anderson named his diamond B.U.D. “That’s for Big, Ugly Diamond,” said Anderson, noting the diamond’s pitted surface and mottled brown color. Anderson typically sells his diamonds locally and said he also plans to sell this one.
“Mr. Anderson’s diamond is about the size of an English pea, with a light brown color and octahedron shape,” said Park Interpreter Tayler Markham. “It has a metallic shine typical of all diamonds found at the park, with a partially resorbed surface and lots of inclusions.”
Anderson’s diamond is the largest gem park staff have registered since September 2021 when a visitor from Granite Bay, California discovered a 4.38-carat yellow diamond at the site. It is the largest brown diamond from the park since the Kinard Friendship Diamond, a 9.07-carat gem found on Labor Day 2020. The Kinard Friendship Diamond was discovered by Kevin Kinard of Maumelle and is the second-largest diamond found at Crater of Diamonds State Park.
As of March, 124 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year. An average of one to two diamonds are found by park visitors each day.
Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The three most common colors found at Crater of Diamonds State Park are white, brown and yellow, in that order.
Located on Arkansas Highway 301 in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, Crater of Diamonds State Park is one of the only places in the world where the public can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve afternoon and Christmas Day).
