Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

5.57-Carat Diamond Found At Crater

Harold Lay tried prospecting for gold in North Carolina, and then read about Arkansas's Crater of Diamonds State Park in a magazine one day. Last year the Florida resident retired and moved to Murfreesboro, home to Crater of Diamonds State Park, the world's only diamond site where the public can search.

For Lay the adventure of prospecting for gold was replaced by the hobby of regularly searching for diamonds at the state park near his home.

Wednesday, June 28, Lay unearthed a 5.57-carat white diamond at the park. This is the largest he has found to date. According to park superintendent Michael Hall, "Harold Lay's diamond is about the size of jellybean, it's about 5/8-inch long and rectangular in size and is frosted white in color."

Hall noted that this is the second time in little over a month that a diamond over five carats has been found at the park. On May 13 Marshall Rieff of Fayetteville unearthed a 5.50-carat white, gem-quality diamond at the park.

"Mr. Lay's diamond is large, but it has some inclusions and a spot in the center, so it may not be a gem-quality stone," Hall said. A gemologist can best determine its value.

"What is especially interesting to note about Mr. Lay's 5.57-carat gem is that it came from a specific site that is producing a lot of diamonds right now," Hall continued. Lay's diamond was unearthed in the east drain area, a low point on the park's search field that diamonds have washed into over time. This same location unearthed the 5.50-carat diamond May 13.

According to Hall, Lay had been searching in the East Drain Area with two other gentlemen who regularly prospect at the park. The three have found a total of six diamonds over the past week, including Lay's 5.57-carat gem and a beautiful 2.02-carat white gem. James Archer of Nashville, discovered the 2.02-carat diamond Saturday, June 24.

Hall noted that Lay's white diamond is the 323rd diamond found by a visitor at the park this year. Lay had been searching for about an hour and a half when he discovered the gem. As Lay was washing and screening dirt, he caught the diamond in the <-mesh on the top of his screen.

"This 5.57-carat gem is the largest diamond found at the park since a mother and daughter from out of state discovered a 7.28-carat pale yellow diamond together in April 1998," Hall said. He said that about two diamonds a day are discovered at the state park.

Crater of Diamonds State Park is the state's well-known diamond site located in southwest Arkansas at Murfreesboro. It is the world's only publicly operated diamond site where the public is allowed to search and keep any gems found, regardless of value.

Visitors search over a 36=-acre plowed field, the eroded surface of an ancient gem-bearing volcanic pipe.

Diamonds may be any of several colors. The most common colors found at Crater of Diamonds are clear white, yellow and brown.

Other semi-precious gems and minerals found there include amethyst, garnet, peridot, jasper, agate, calcite, barite and quartz. Over 40 different rocks and minerals are unearthed at the crater, making it a rock hound's delight.

Over 70,000 diamonds have been unearthed at the crater since those first found in 1906 by John Huddleston, the farmer who at that time owned the land.

The largest diamond ever discovered in North America was unearthed here in 1924. Named the Uncle Sam' this white diamond weighed 40.23 carats.

Other notable finds from the crater include the 'Star of Murfreesboro' (34.25 carats) and the 'Star of Arkansas' (15.33 carats).

The largest diamond of the 20,000 discovered since the crater became a state park in 1972 is the 16.37-carat 'Amarillo Starlight.' A visitor from Texas found this white diamond on the surface of the diamond field in 1975. In June 1981 the 8.82-carat 'Star of Shreveport' was added to the growing list of large valuable stones found at the crater.

Crater of Diamonds State Park is located two miles southeast of Murfreesboro. The park is open daily. Current summer hours are 8:00 a.m. to 800 p.m. Admission to the diamond search field is $4.50 for adult and $2 for children (ages 6-12.