An Arkansas couple was digging in the dirt when they made a $21,000 discovery-- a 2.44 carat diamond.
Melissa and Kenny Oliver, of Rosston, Arkansas, found the diamond they dubbed "Silver Moon" at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesburo, AR. It is the only diamond-producing site in the world that's open to the public. For seven dollars, customers are invited in to dig for buried treasures.
"Most of the diamonds that come out of the ground will have impurities," said Bill Underwood of Underwood's Fine Jewelers, the company that gave the "Silver Moon" stone its beautiful pear-shaped cut. "It's rare for one to be clear and clean, and this diamond that we've just had cut was a very clean and clear one."
The largest diamond ever found in North America -- the 40.23 carat "Uncle Sam"-- was discovered at this same Arkansas site, an eroded volcanic crater, back in 1924, nearly 50 years before it became a state park.
The "finders-keepers" policy at Crater of Diamonds Park allowed diggers to take home 560 diamonds last year and nearly 30,000 since the park opened in 1972. Often, visitors will take home buckets of gravel to sift through for the gems, returning with stories of success or failure, and the leftover rubble.
The Olivers have not let their $21,000 discovery put an end to their diamond search. They have been back to the park almost every weekend since their discovery, looking for that next buried treasure.
