Good NewsLouisiana man finds 2.89 carat white diamond at Arkansas state park
On March 6, Brandon Kalendra and his family visited Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro.
His mother-in-law insisted on the family field trip after watching a segment of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting where the Duggar family went diamond-hunting at the park.
It turns out, sometimes the mother-in-law really does know best.
Kalendra found a triangular-shaped 2.89 carat white diamond — Park Interpreter Margi Jenks said it was about the size of a pea — after searching for only about 20 minutes in the Fugitt's Bank area of the park.
"We encourage park visitors to look for pockets or layers on the surface of gravel, and search there," Jenks said.
Kalendra told the park he plans to keep the diamond. (The park is famous for its "finders, keepers" policy.) Its value had not yet been determined.
Kalendra named the rock "Jax Diamond" after Jackson, his infant son.
His find was the fourth diamond weighing more than a carat to be found since mid-February.
"Conditions are perfect for diamond hunting right now," Jenks said in a release.
"The park staff plowed the diamond search field at the end of January, and the park received about one and a quarter inch of rain on Sunday—a good, hard washing rain," she continued.
"Diamonds are a bit heavy for their size, and they lack static electricity, so rainfall slides the dirt off diamonds that are on the surface of the search field leaving them exposed. When the sun comes out, they’ll shine and be noticeable."
Last August, a 12-year-old North Carolina boy found a 5.16-carat honey-brown diamond at the park. Once polished, the rock would be worth between $12,000 and $15,000.
Michael Dettlaff named the gem "God's Glory Diamond."
A few months later, inspired by Dettlaff's find, 14-year-old Tana Clymer of Oklahoma discovered a 3.85-carat canary diamond, which she promptly named the "God's Jewel Diamond."
She planned on either turning the rock into a ring — or using it to help pay for college.
