Photos and text of searching for diamonds at the only place in the world where you can keep what you find!

continued See the display of rough diamonds at the visitor center, to know what you are looking for before you go out into the field.   Sometimes getting close the ground is a good way to search the area. If the weather is such that a recent heavy rain has occured and now the sun is out, you might have better luck just walking around and looking for "sparkles".   Don't be fooled by the many tiny flakes of sparkly mica (phlogopite) that seem to be everywhere, as well as broken coke bottles, chunks of calcite, and other tricky imposters. Remember, these diamond crystals are small!   The park keeps a scoreboard of finds, and although the professional collectors get most of the stones, the tourists are the ones who usually find the biggest ones! We can't stress enough that you have to know what you are looking for when you hunt for diamonds. If you are expecting to find a brilliant cut stone like in a ring, that's not what is out there...   A very rare and perfect diamond has come back to where it was found. Originally weighing 3.03 carats uncut, the diamond was unearthed by Shirley Strawn, local Murfreesboro resident, in 1990. After it was cut by Lazare Kaplan International of New York in 1998, it weighs 1.09 carats. It was then sent to Peter Yantzer, laboratory director of the American Gem Society, and was discovered to grade D-flawless, 0/0/0 (cut, color, clarity). Yanter stated "this diamond is one in a billion." The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism purchased the stone for $34,500, using part grant money and part private donations. This stone will be displayed in a special case in the Park's Museum and may occasionally be part of a traveling display. The stone is mounted in a specially designed ring composed of pure platinum and gold (24 Kt). We think it is wonderful that this exceptional diamond will be available for future generations to see and appreciate. Our thanks to both the Parks and Tourism Department and the Strawn's for doing this for all Arkansawyers and tourists everywhere! The history of discovery and mining at the Crater of Diamonds is written up in an article by Dr. Al Kidwell in the Mineralogical Record (1990, Nov-Dec, pages 545-55). Check your local library to see if they take the Mineralogical Record. A pamphlet "Finding diamonds in Arkansas!" is available from the Arkansas Geological Commission. Contact the AGC for this brochure. If you ever visit Washington, D.C., you will find a display of several uncut Arkansas diamonds in the Hall of Gems in the Natural History Museum of the National Museum (Smithsonian). These stones were part of the Roebling collection. See also Diamonds in chapter 2 of Other Minerals   Ch 3, page 5a Contact the authors of Rockhounding Arkansas revised July 1999 © Rockhounding Arkansas 1998 http://rockhoundingAR.com