Woman Finds 4.38-Carat Diamond At Arkansas State Park
on Oct 01, 2021
Noreen Wredberg from Granite Bay, California was visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas when she found a 4.38-carat yellow diamond.
Noreen said since she retired in 2011, she and her husband have spent a lot of their time off traveling around and seeing America’s National Parks.
This year they decided to check out the Crater of Diamonds State Park.
“I first saw the park featured on a TV show several years ago,” she told Arkansas States Parks. “When I realized we weren’t too far away, I knew we had to come!”
According to the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Secretary Stacy Hurst, Arkansas is the only state in the U.S. that has a diamond mine that is open to the public.
“It’s such a unique experience and visitors make lifetime memories, whether or not they find a diamond. Of course, finding a diamond adds to the experience!” she added.
The couple showed up at Crater of Diamonds on a sunny Thursday morning in September. Noreen said she started her search for a diamond at the cave’s entrance while her husband ventured out into another area.
“It was cold in the shade that morning,” Michael said, “so I told Noreen that we should go to the middle of the field, where it was warmer.”
After about 40 minutes of sifting through the dirt, she spotted something sparkling on top of the dirt.
“I didn’t know it was a diamond then, but it was clean and shiny, so I picked it up!” She said.
She then took it to the Diamond Discovery Center to get it identified and they said it was a very large yellow diamond. It weighed 4.38 carats and was the largest diamond found at the park since last October.
Park Superintendent Caleb Howell said, “When I first saw this diamond under the microscope, I thought, ‘Wow, what a beautiful shape and color!’ Mrs. Wredberg’s diamond weighs more than four carats and is about the size of a jellybean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow color.”
