Look: New York woman finds 2.3-carat gem at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A New York woman visited Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park to find a stone for her engagement ring and wound up discovering a 2.3-carat white diamond.
Manhattan resident Micherre Fox, 31, said she decided about two years ago that she would find her own engagement ring diamond.
"There's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage," Fox said in an Arkansas State Parks news release. "You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work."
Fox said her partner supported her decision and agreed to wait until she found the right stone.
"I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen," she said. "I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our backyard, in Arkansas!"
Fox planned a three-week trip to the park that began July 8. She spent hours searching for the perfect diamond every day, but it wasn't until July 29, the last day of her visit, that she spotted something along the West Drain of the park's 37.5-acre diamond search area.
The searcher said she initially thought the object was merely the sun glistening off the dew on a spider web, but when she nudged it with her boot she realized it was something solid.
"Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn't know for sure, but it was the most 'diamond-y diamond' I had seen," she recalled.
Fox took her find to the Diamond Discovery Center, where staff confirmed she had found a 2.3-carat white diamond, also known as a colorless diamond.
"I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing," she said.
Fox, who is now planning to have the stone set in her engagement ring, named her gem the Fox-Ballou Diamond, combining her partner's last name with her own.
"Ms. Fox's story highlights the fact that, even when putting forth your best effort, being in the right place at the right time plays a part in finding diamonds," Crater of Diamonds State Park Assistant Superintendent Waymon Cox said. "After weeks of hard work, Ms. Fox found her diamond sitting right on top of the ground."
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After 3-week search, woman finds 2.3-carat diamond at Arkansas park
A woman from New York searching for the perfect stone for her engagement ring struck gold or rather, diamond with a stunning 2.3-carat find. Micherre Fox, of Manhattan, decided about two years ago she wanted to find her own diamond. In July, she traveled to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas -- the only public site in the world where visitors can search for and keep any gems they find, according to the state park. "I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen," she told the state park in a recent interview. "I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our backyard, in Arkansas!" Since becoming a state park in 1972, Crater of Diamonds has yielded more than 35,000 diamonds, including the record-breaking 40.23-carat Uncle Sam. Fox arrived on July 8 and spent nearly every day of her three-week trip digging for diamonds. During her final day on July 29, she spotted a glint in the park's 37.5-acre search area. At first, she thought it might be a dew-covered spiderweb, but when the shine didn't fade, she nudged it with her boot and picked it up. "Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn't know for sure, but it was the most 'diamond-y diamond' I had seen," she recalled. Man finds 9-carat diamond, 2nd-largest ever at Arkansas state park Fox later rushed to the Diamond Discovery Center, where staff confirmed it was a white, colorless diamond weighing more than two carats, according to the state park. "I got really lucky and I worked hard," Fox said in an interview that aired Aug. 13 on ABC News "World News Tonight With David Muir," adding that her advice to others is to, "Hold on to being optimistic and bold, even though it's naïve." More than 350 diamonds have been found at the park this year, and Fox's gem, which she named the Fox-Ballou Diamond after her and her partner's last names, is the third-largest discovered there in 2025, according to the state park. Looking back, Fox said her experience at the park was all about getting her hands dirty, crediting park staff and fellow visitors for making the trip unforgettable. "After all the research, there's luck and there's hard work," she said in the interview with the state park. "When you are literally picking up the dirt in your hands, no amount of research can do that for you; no amount of education can take you all the way. It was daunting!" Solve the daily Crossword
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16 hours ago
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Look: New York woman finds 2.3-carat gem at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds
1 of 3 | Micherre Fox found a 2.3-carat white diamond after three weeks of searching at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park. Photo courtesy of Arkansas State Parks Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A New York woman visited Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park to find a stone for her engagement ring and wound up discovering a 2.3-carat white diamond. Manhattan resident Micherre Fox, 31, said she decided about two years ago that she would find her own engagement ring diamond. "There's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage," Fox said in an Arkansas State Parks news release. "You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work." Fox said her partner supported her decision and agreed to wait until she found the right stone. "I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen," she said. "I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our backyard, in Arkansas!" Fox planned a three-week trip to the park that began July 8. She spent hours searching for the perfect diamond every day, but it wasn't until July 29, the last day of her visit, that she spotted something along the West Drain of the park's 37.5-acre diamond search area. The searcher said she initially thought the object was merely the sun glistening off the dew on a spider web, but when she nudged it with her boot she realized it was something solid. "Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn't know for sure, but it was the most 'diamond-y diamond' I had seen," she recalled. Fox took her find to the Diamond Discovery Center, where staff confirmed she had found a 2.3-carat white diamond, also known as a colorless diamond. "I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing," she said. Fox, who is now planning to have the stone set in her engagement ring, named her gem the Fox-Ballou Diamond, combining her partner's last name with her own. "Ms. Fox's story highlights the fact that, even when putting forth your best effort, being in the right place at the right time plays a part in finding diamonds," Crater of Diamonds State Park Assistant Superintendent Waymon Cox said. "After weeks of hard work, Ms. Fox found her diamond sitting right on top of the ground."
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This Traveler Found a 2.3-carat Diamond at the Only U.S. State Park That Lets You Dig for Diamonds
In a state park that lets you dig for diamonds, you never know what you might find. At least that was the case for Micherre Fox. She traveled from New York to Arkansas to spend a month at Crater of Diamonds State Park, one of the only places in the U.S. that produces diamonds and lets visitors search for them. Fox was hoping to find a diamond for her engagement ring when she arrived in Arkansas on July 8. However, it wasn't until her last day searching that she got lucky. While walking along the West Drain of the park on July 29, she spotted something shiny at her feet, and realized the glistening object was a stone. It seemed clear to her that it was probably a diamond. She brought the stone to the Diamond Discovery Center and it was confirmed that what she had found was a white diamond that weighed 2.3 carats. "Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn't know for sure, but it was the most 'diamond-y diamond' I had seen,' Fox told Arkansas State Parks. 'I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing." A sign for the historic Strawn-Wagner found diamond at the State Park. Since the first diamonds were discovered in the area in 1906, over 75,000 diamonds have been found at the Crater of Diamonds State Park. Diamonds can come in all colors, though the three most common colors found at the Arkansas park are white, brown, and yellow. The park is also where the largest diamond in the United States wad discovered. It was uncovered in 1924 during a mining operation on the land that later became Crater of Diamonds State Park. The diamond was white with a pink cast, and weighed 40.23 carats before it was cut down to a 12.42 carat emerald-shaped stone. It currently resides in the Smithsonian's gem collection at the National Museum of Natural History. Many visitors who find diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park choose to name them, and Fox has decided to call hers the Fox-Ballou Diamond, after her and her partner's last names, and will use it in her engagement ring as she had hoped. As of August 2025, there have been 366 diamonds found and registered at the park in 2025, and 11 have weighed more than one carat. Fox's find is the third-largest diamond found at the park thus far this year.
