Large diamond discovered at state park

Submitted photo DIAMOND FIND: A large, tea-colored gem was discovered by St. Louis resident Gail Hudson during a birthday trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park last week. Hudson's find was a large brown diamond, weighing 1.80 carats, and was discovered within the first five minutes of her search.
Submitted photo DIAMOND FIND: A large, tea-colored gem was discovered by St. Louis resident Gail Hudson during a birthday trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park last week. Hudson's find was a large brown diamond, weighing 1.80 carats, and was discovered within the first five minutes of her search.

MURFREESBORO -- A large, tea-colored gem was discovered by St. Louis resident Gail Hudson during a birthday trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park last week.

Hudson and her friend, Pat Warmack, have known about Crater of Diamonds for years and visited the park for the first time this month. "Her birthday is in March, and mine is in April, so we decided that we needed to do something," Hudson said in a news release. They determined that a visit to Arkansas' diamond site would be the perfect way to celebrate.

Hudson and Warmack arrived at the Crater of Diamonds visitor center on the afternoon of April 22 and purchased admission to the park's 37.5-acre diamond search area, the eroded surface of an ancient, diamond-bearing volcanic crater. Hudson said, "We came down late on Friday to get our bearings and pick where we wanted to come back and search on Saturday morning." About five minutes after entering the search area, Hudson was sweeping the ground with her eyes when she noticed something shiny sticking out of the dirt.

Thinking it might be an iridescent bug shell, Hudson decided to take a closer look. "It was partially buried, so I used my finger to scoop it up. Once I had it in my hand, I knew it was different from anything else I'd ever seen," she said. She noted that the rounded stone felt unusual. "It had a different weight to it. The weight felt more dispersed than a rock of that size. It's hard to explain." Hudson put the stone in her pocket and continued searching for another half-hour before having her rocks and minerals identified at the park's Diamond Discovery Center. There, park staff confirmed that her first find was a large brown diamond, weighing 1.80 carats.

According to park interpreter Waymon Cox, "Miss Hudson's diamond has a light brown hue similar to iced tea and is about the size of a green pea. It has a brilliant shine and rounded facets characteristic of Crater diamonds." He emphasized that many visitors find diamonds while surface searching. "About 15 percent of diamonds certified at the park each year are found right on top of the ground. So far in 2016, 13 visitors have found diamonds on the surface, including Miss Hudson."

Park personnel plow the diamond search area periodically to loosen the soil and assist with natural erosion. Diamonds are a bit heavy for their size and lack static electricity, so dirt doesn't stick to them, the release said. Runoff from rainstorms concentrates heavy rocks and minerals, like diamonds, in low-lying parts of the search area. When rainfall uncovers larger diamonds to the surface and the sun comes out, they sparkle.

Hudson's find is the 176th diamond certified by park staff this year. It is the largest brown diamond found at the park in more than two years and the largest diamond registered since last September, when a visitor from Carl Junction, Miss., found a 2.29-carat white diamond while surface searching.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Hudson named her gem the Hudson Diamond in honor of her parents and family up north. At this time she plans to keep her diamond uncut and have it mounted in a piece of jewelry. She is excited to have a one-of-a-kind souvenir to celebrate her birthday and to remember her first visit to the park.

Call Crater of Diamonds State Park, located at 209 State Park Road. in Murfreesboro, at 870-285-3113 or email [email protected] for more information.

Diamond finds for the weeks of April 10 and 17 (100 points equals 1 carat):

• April 10 -- Richard Meador, Midland, 3-point yellow, 9-point white.

• April 11 -- Martha McAdams, Mountain View, Mo., 14-point brown, 53-point white; Adam Hardin, Murfreesboro, 8-point white.

• April 12 -- Michael St. Ours, Appleton, Wis., 3-point yellow.

• April 13 -- Martha McAdams, 6-point brown, 7-point white, 18-point white; Adam Hardin, 2-point white, 2-point white, 5-point yellow, 12-point brown, 17-point white.

• April 14 -- Martha McAdams, 57-point yellow; William Knight, Sugar Hill, Ga., 4-point white.

• April 15 -- Martha McAdams, 11-point yellow.

• April 16 -- Sterling DeGolier, Madison, Wis., 3-point white; Adam Hardin, 8-point white.

• April 19 -- Adam Hardin, 3-point yellow, 7-point brown.

• April 22 -- James Moore, Morrilton, 15-point brown; Adam Hardin, 10-point white, 14-point white; Gail Hudson, St. Louis, 1.80-carat brown.

• April 23 -- James Green, Memphis, Tenn., 17-point white.

• April 23 -- Richard Meador, 1-point white, 1-point yellow, 8-point yellow, 13-point white.

Entertainment on 05/03/2016

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