MURFREESBORO, Ark. (KTHV) – David Anderson first learned of the Crater of Diamonds State Park when he saw Arkansas's diamond site featured on The Travel Channel's "Best Places to Find Cash and Treasures." His first visit to the park was in 2007. Because of his love for diamond hunting here, he now calls Murfreesboro home so he can hunt regularly for diamonds in the park's 37 ½-acre search area.
On Tuesday, after looking for about four hours, Anderson found a 6.19-carat white diamond, the largest of the hundreds of diamonds he's found at the park. He discovered it in the East Drain area of the search field. Anderson named his clear, white marquise-shape diamond the Limitless Diamond after the 2014 motto for the charitable organization Speed the Light. He plans to donate proceeds from the sale of this diamond to Speed the Light.
According to Park Interpreter Waymon Cox, "The Limitless Diamond is about the size of a jelly bean, and it's the 15th-largest diamond found at Crater of Diamonds State Park since 1972. It is also the largest white diamond we have registered in three years since the 8.66-carat Illusion Diamond was discovered in April 2011 by Beth Gilbertson of Salida, Colorado." He said, "This diamond is definitely a beauty. It looks almost entirely clear and appears to be an unbroken crystal."
Cox continued, "It's no surprise that a large diamond was found this week. Over four inches of rain fell on the park last weekend, and David found his diamond on the first sunny day following the rain. Rainwater washes soil from the search area and often exposes heavy gravel and diamonds on the surface." He emphasized, "David has worked hard to find more than 400 diamonds here over the years, but he had never surface searched for diamonds until this year. This is the largest, and probably the easiest, diamond he's ever found!"
Cox noted that the park staff often doesn't find out what happens to diamonds from the park after they are registered. "We are excited to follow David's journey with the Limitless Diamond and to see what the end result will be!"
On average, two diamonds are found a day by park visitors. The colors of diamonds found at the park are white, brown, and yellow, in that order. Cox noted that with Anderson's diamond, the current trend continues of visitors finding diamonds on the surface of the search field. Due to good rains this year, and some especially hard rains recently, the park is experiencing perfect conditions for visitors to find diamonds right on the surface of the search area. Diamonds are a bit heavy for their size, so a good downpour will wash the dirt away, leaving the diamond exposed.
