Woman Keeps Rare Diamond She Discovered Whilst Hiking In The US

If you struggle to perk up the motivation to do some outdoor exercise perhaps this story will change all that! 

A woman in the US was hiking in Arkansas State Park when she discovered and got to keep a rare diamond worth over $22,000. 

Noreen Wredberg of California was exploring the Crater Diamonds State Park on September 23 when she noticed something bright, sparkly and brilliant yellow colour. 

Turns out it was a 4.38-carat diamond!

“I didn’t know it was a diamond then, but it was clean and shiny, so I picked it up,” she stated in a park press release.

The 15-hectare park, a couple of hours drive outside of Little Rock, Arkansas, is visited by tourists from all over the world. 

Around 50 diamonds are discovered every year but most discoveries are of semiprecious quartz or garnets. 

Ms Wredberg and her husband Michael couldn’t believe their luck when the park’s Diamond Discovery Centre confirmed it was none other than a flawless, yellow diamond. 

Park Superintendent Caleb Howell said the 4.38 carat stone was “about the size of a jelly bean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow colour.”

As one of the largest stones found on-site in the past five years, the stone is for Ms Wredberg to keep. 

Per carat, a fine yellow diamond ranges from $3600 to $28,700. 

The famous diamond fossicking site is located in the crater of an old volcano and one of the rare places in the world where the public can search for precious stones. 

The largest diamond ever unearthed in America was found in the park in 1924: a 40.23-carat white diamond called Uncle Sam. 

Powered mining tools or excavation is not permitted in the park but if you find a precious diamond in the rough, it's yours to keep.

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