Latest news with #WaymonCox


Fox News
a day ago
- General
- Fox News
Manhattan woman finds 2.3-carat diamond for engagement ring after three-week quest
A New York woman recently discovered a 2.3-carat white diamond in an Arkansas state park while hunting for the perfect stone for her engagement ring. Micherre Fox — a 31-year-old Manhattan resident — decided years ago that she wanted to find her own diamond. On July 8, she traveled to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas to begin her search, according to a news release from Waymon Cox, the park's assistant superintendent. "There's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage," Fox said in a statement. "You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work." Fox spent three weeks scouring the park's 37.5-acre search area. On July 29, her final day at the park, she noticed a glimmer near her feet. At first, she thought it may have been a spiderweb, but upon closer inspection, she realized it was a diamond, according to the news release. "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 said in a statement. Park staff confirmed the gem was a diamond, and Fox was immediately flooded with emotion — falling to her knees crying and then laughing, according to the news release. The gem — which is about the size of a human canine tooth — is the third-largest diamond discovered so far this year at Crater of Diamonds State Park. Fox has since named her gem "Fox-Ballou Diamond," after the last names of her and her partner, according to the news release. Since the Crater of Diamonds became an Arkansas state park in 1972, park visitors have discovered and kept over 35,000 diamonds. Adults can participate in gem hunting at the park, which is open to the public, for a fee of $15 per day, the Associated Press reported. Earlier this year, a Minnesota resident unearthed a 3.81-carat brown diamond in the state park.


South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
New York woman finds diamond for her engagement ring at Arkansas park
A New York woman has unearthed a 2-carat white diamond at an Arkansas state park, a gem she said will be used in her engagement ring. Micherre Fox of Manhattan spent several weeks at the state park in July after deciding to forage for a diamond, according to a news release from Waymon Cox, an assistant superintendent at Crater of Diamonds State Park. The 31-year-old woman searched for diamonds during much of July in a 14-hectare field (37-acre) that is part of the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic crater. It wasn't until her last day at the park, while walking, that she spotted something glistening at her feet. Park staff confirmed that the sparkly gem, about the size of a person's canine tooth, was a 2.3-carat diamond. 'I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,' Fox said in the statement. It is the third-largest diamond of more than 350 diamonds found at the park this year.


Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Woman says 2-carat diamond she unearthed at Arkansas state park will be used in engagement ring
MURFREESBORO, Ark. (AP) — A New York woman has unearthed a 2-carat white diamond at an Arkansas state park, a gem she says will be used in her engagement ring. Micherre Fox of Manhattan spent several weeks at the state park in July after deciding to forage for a diamond, according to a news release from Waymon Cox, an assistant superintendent at Crater of Diamonds State Park. The 31-year-old woman searched for diamonds during much of July in a 37-acre field that is part of the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic crater. It wasn't until her last day at the park, while walking, that she spotted something glistening at her feet. Park staff confirmed that the sparkly gem about the size of a person's canine tooth was a 2.3-carat diamond. 'I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,' Fox said in the statement. It's the third-largest diamond of more than 350 diamonds found at the park this year. The park is open to the public and adults can engage in gem hunting by paying $15 per day. Park staff plows the field periodically to loosen the soil and make diamond hunting easier. Park visitors have found and kept more than 35,000 diamonds since the Crater of Diamonds became an Arkansas state park in 1972, according to park officials. The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed there in 1924 during an early mining operation, park officials said. Known as Uncle Sam, the white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats and was later cut into a 12.42-carat emerald shape. It's part of the Smithsonian's mineral and gem collection and can be seen at the National Museum of Natural History.


Associated Press
3 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Woman says 2-carat diamond she unearthed at Arkansas state park will be used in engagement ring
MURFREESBORO, Ark. (AP) — A New York woman has unearthed a 2-carat white diamond at an Arkansas state park, a gem she says will be used in her engagement ring. Micherre Fox of Manhattan spent several weeks at the state park in July after deciding to forage for a diamond, according to a news release from Waymon Cox, an assistant superintendent at Crater of Diamonds State Park. The 31-year-old woman searched for diamonds during much of July in a 37-acre field that is part of the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic crater. It wasn't until her last day at the park, while walking, that she spotted something glistening at her feet. Park staff confirmed that the sparkly gem about the size of a person's canine tooth was a 2.3-carat diamond. 'I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,' Fox said in the statement. It's the third-largest diamond of more than 350 diamonds found at the park this year. The park is open to the public and adults can engage in gem hunting by paying $15 per day. Park staff plows the field periodically to loosen the soil and make diamond hunting easier. Park visitors have found and kept more than 35,000 diamonds since the Crater of Diamonds became an Arkansas state park in 1972, according to park officials. The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed there in 1924 during an early mining operation, park officials said. Known as Uncle Sam, the white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats and was later cut into a 12.42-carat emerald shape. It's part of the Smithsonian's mineral and gem collection and can be seen at the National Museum of Natural History.


Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Woman says 2-carat diamond she unearthed at Arkansas state park will be used in engagement ring
MURFREESBORO, Ark. — A New York woman has unearthed a 2-carat white diamond at an Arkansas state park, a gem she says will be used in her engagement ring. Micherre Fox of Manhattan spent several weeks at the state park in July after deciding to forage for a diamond, according to a news release from Waymon Cox, an assistant superintendent at Crater of Diamonds State Park. The 31-year-old woman searched for diamonds during much of July in a 37-acre field that is part of the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic crater. It wasn't until her last day at the park, while walking, that she spotted something glistening at her feet. Park staff confirmed that the sparkly gem about the size of a person's canine tooth was a 2.3-carat diamond. 'I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,' Fox said in the statement. It's the third-largest diamond of more than 350 diamonds found at the park this year. The park is open to the public and adults can engage in gem hunting by paying $15 per day. Park staff plows the field periodically to loosen the soil and make diamond hunting easier. Park visitors have found and kept more than 35,000 diamonds since the Crater of Diamonds became an Arkansas state park in 1972, according to park officials. The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed there in 1924 during an early mining operation, park officials said. Known as Uncle Sam, the white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats and was later cut into a 12.42-carat emerald shape. It's part of the Smithsonian's mineral and gem collection and can be seen at the National Museum of Natural History.