MURFREESBORO, Ark. (May 10, 2017) -- Victoria Brodski visited Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park for a special birthday celebration. The 25-year-old had known about the unique park for years and finally decided to visit after hearing about a 7.44-carat diamond found in March.
Brodski and her family drove in from Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday, May 6 and bought tickets to enter the diamond field at 9:00 a.m. A few minutes later, she was sitting with her daughter and brother by a culvert near the mine entrance when she picked up what she thought was a pretty piece of glass. Noting its shine, she put it in a plastic bag and continued searching.
A couple hours later, Brodski walked to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center to see what real uncut diamonds look like. It was there that she first realized she may have found more than just glass. “I was looking at pictures of diamonds on display and noticed their similarity to what I had found,” Brodski said. She quickly showed her find to park staff, who confirmed that she had found a beautiful brown diamond.
Park Interpreter Waymon Cox pointed out, “Mrs. Brodski was searching where running water had deposited lots of gravel in the plowed field. Diamonds are a bit heavy for their size, so they are often found near other heavy rocks and minerals.”
Brodski’s diamond was one of three found on the surface on May 6. It is the second-largest diamond found so far in 2017, topped only by the 7.44-carat brown diamond found by a 14 year old. According to Cox, “Mrs. Brodski’s diamond is one of the more beautiful brown diamonds I’ve seen from the park. It’s about the size of a bead, with a dark brown color, like raw honey. It has a smooth, rounded surface and appears free of blemishes, inside and out.”
It is a tradition at Crater of Diamonds State Park for visitors to name their finds. Brodski dubbed her gem the Michelangelo Diamond, because her family decided to use the names of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as code words, in case any of them found anything. Brodski noted, “When I learned that I had found a diamond, I called my mom and said, ‘Michelangelo.’”
When asked about her plans for the Michelangelo Diamond, Brodski said that she will sell it and split the money with her family. According to her, “We made a contract before we came, that we would split anything we found among the four of us.” Her advice for other first-time visitors? Brodski suggested, “Prior to looking for diamonds, find out what a diamond looks like. I would have been a lot more excited if I had known it was a diamond when I picked it up!”
As of this writing, 188 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park so far in 2017, weighing a total of 46.08 carats. Five other diamonds weighing at least one carat have been registered this year, including two weighing over two carats.
