A man, who visits an Arkansas state park regularly, recently found a 2.38-carat brown diamond in the park. According to a press release by the Arkansas State Parks, Adam Hardin found his first diamond weighing more than two carats last month at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, US - one of the only places in the world where the public can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source. Mr Hardin's diamond is the largest to have been found at the park so far this year.
As per the press note, Mr Hardin revealed that he was wet-shifting soil from the East Drain of the park's 37.5-acre search area when he found the gem. He said, “It was right in the middle when I flipped my screen over. When I saw it, I said, ‘Wow, that's a big diamond!'”
After he found the gem, Mr Hardin took the diamond to the park's Diamond Discovery Centre, where his diamond was registered as a 2.38-carat brown diamond. Park Interpreter Waymon Cox informed that the brown gem is about the size of a pinto bean, coffee brown in colour and round in shape. Mr Cox added that the diamond has a metallic shine, with a few inclusions and crevices running all along the surface.
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Further, as per the release, Mr Hardin's diamond is the largest found at the park since last September. It is also the largest brown diamond since the 9.07-carat Kinard Friendship Diamond which was discovered on Labor Day 2020.
As finders of the Large Crater diamonds often choose to name their gems, Mr Hardin named his diamond “Frankenstone”. “I thought of the name because it has a pretty and kind of not-so-pretty look to it," he explained, adding, "Us diamond miners call that 'character!'" He has told Arkansas State Parks that he now plans to sell the diamond.
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Mr Hardin has been visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park for more than a decade and has previously found “hundreds” of gems on his visits. He has also had some competition with another regular visitor to see who can find the biggest diamond. Now, despite beating his competitor, Mr Hardin is again trying to find a bigger gem in order to stay on the top.
