Latest news with #gemhunting
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
New York woman finds diamond for her engagement ring at Arkansas state park
A New York woman has found a 2.30-carat colorless diamond in an Arkansas state park and repurposed it as her engagement ring. Micherre Fox, 31, of Manhattan, New York, went on a month-long hunt in July to the state's Crater of Diamonds state park to search for gems and came up lucky on the last day, according to Arkansas state parks. '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 the park service. The service said it was the third largest of 366 diamonds found in the park this year. It describes the Crater of Diamonds – a 37-acre, eroded surface of a volcanic crater near Murfreesboro, as 'the only place in the world where the public can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source'. 'Any rock or mineral you find is yours to keep,' it says. 'You may bring your own mining equipment to search with (no battery-operated or motor-driven mining tools allowed), or rent tools from the park.' Waymon Cox, assistant superintendent of the park, said Fox's digging 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'. Fox's story comes with a message of self-determination. She decided two years ago that she wanted to find her own diamond for an engagement ring, telling the park service that 'there's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage. You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work.' Her partner, and presumably prospective husband, was supportive of the project. 'I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen,' Fox said. 'I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our back yard, in Arkansas.' When she spotted something glistening at her feet, Fox thought it could be a dew-covered spiderweb. But she soon realized it was a shiny stone. The park identified it as a diamond. 'I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,' she said. Most of the diamonds found in the volcanic crater are white, brown and yellow. In total, more than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed there since diamonds were discovered in 1906. The largest discovered, at 40.23 carats, is named Uncle Sam, and now sits on display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The dig-your-own/bring-a-trowel trend may catch on as a signal of commitment, since the allure of diamonds is on the rocks. Lab-grown diamonds, created in plasma reactors, have badly damaged the natural diamond market, the Guardian reported earlier this year. Prices for both, lab-grown and natural, are falling fast and show no signs of stopping. De Beers, the biggest name in diamonds, said it began 2024 with a huge $2bn stockpile of diamonds and had not managed to shift it by the year's end. The company has cut production in its mines by 20%, and its owner, Anglo American, has put it up for sale.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
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
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
NYC woman finds diamond for her engagement ring at Arkansas state park
A New York woman has found a 2.30-carat colorless diamond in an Arkansas state park and repurposed it as her engagement ring. Micherre Fox, 31, of Manhattan, New York, went on a month-long hunt in July to the state's Crater of Diamonds state park to search for gems and came up lucky on the last day, according to Arkansas state parks. '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 the park service. The service said it was the third largest of 366 diamonds found in the park this year. It describes the Crater of Diamonds – a 37-acre, eroded surface of a volcanic crater near Murfreesboro, as 'the only place in the world where the public can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source.' 'Any rock or mineral you find is yours to keep,' it says. 'You may bring your own mining equipment to search with (no battery-operated or motor-driven mining tools allowed), or rent tools from the park.' Waymon Cox, assistant superintendent of the park, said Fox's digging 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'. Fox's story comes with a message of self-determination. She decided two years ago that she wanted to find her own diamond for an engagement ring, telling the park service that 'there's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage. You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work.' Her partner, and presumably prospective husband, was supportive of the project. 'I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen,' Fox said. 'I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our back yard, in Arkansas.' When she spotted something glistening at her feet, Fox thought it could be a dew-covered spiderweb. But she soon realized it was a shiny stone. The park identified it as a diamond. 'I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,' she said. Most of the diamonds found in the volcanic crater are white, brown and yellow. In total, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed there since diamonds were discovered in 1906. The largest discovered, at 40.23 carats, is named Uncle Sam, and now sits on display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The dig-your-own/bring-a-trowel trend may catch-on as a signal of commitment, since the allure of diamonds is on the rocks. Lab-grown diamonds, created in plasma reactors, have badly damaged the natural diamond market, the Guardian reported earlier this year. Prices for both, lab-grown and natural, are falling fast and show no signs of stopping. De Beers, the biggest name in diamonds, said it began 2024 with a huge $2bn stockpile of diamonds and had not managed to shift it by the year's end. The company has cut production in its mines by 20%, and its owner, Anglo American, has put it up for sale.
