A French tourist found a massive 7.46-carat diamond after he stopped at an Arkansas state park during a road trip this month.
Julien Navas, of Paris, found the boulder on the surface of Crater of Diamonds State Park while surveying the 37.5-acre search area on Jan. 11, state officials said.
He was in the US to witness a rocket launch in Florida before he had plans with his friend to see Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
But on the way, he learned about the world-famous Razorback State park known for its bling and wanted to make a pit stop, park officials said.
The diamond is 7.46 carats. ARKANSAS STATE PARKS
Navas, who previously panned for gold and searched for ammonite fossils, rented a basic diamond hunting kit and began digging in the mud after heavy rains hit the area a few days earlier.
“It was backbreaking work so by midday I was mainly looking on the ground for anything that stood out,” Navas said.
After a few more hours of searching and picking up possible treasures, he went to the center of the park to find out if he really had the real prize.
The diamond was the size of a bubble gum. ARKANSAS STATE PARKS
The deep chocolate-brown marble-like object turned out to be a 7.46-carat diamond – the largest find at the park since 2020 and the eighth largest in the park’s history since it opened in 1972.
The diamond is about the size of a candy bar, the park said.
“I am very happy!” he reportedly said when he realized the expensive items he had seized. “All I can think about is telling my fiancé what I found.”
He named the gem the Carine Diamond after his partner and planned to cut the stone into two diamonds – one for his fiancee and the other for his daughter.
More than 75,000 diamonds have been scooped up in Crater of Diamonds State Park since the first sparkling treasure was discovered by a farmer decades ago.
The largest diamond ever found in the US was discovered in 1924 during mining operations on land that later became a state park.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
