ARKANSAS – What would you do if you found a huge diamond ring? Imagine finding over 400 in the past 16 years. That’s the reality for a regular visitor at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park who recently found a 3.29-carat brown diamond.
David Anderson made the discovery on Saturday, March 4, while he was wet-sifting soil from the West Drain of the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area.
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“At first I thought it was quartz but wondered why it was so shiny,” said Anderson. “Once I picked it up, I realized it was a diamond!”
This isn’t Anderson’s first rodeo, though, he has found more than 400 diamonds over the past 16 years, including 15 weighing over one carat. His other top finds include a 3.83-carat yellow diamond, found in December 2011, and a 6.19-carat white gem discovered in April 2014.
His most recent find has been dubbed B.U.D., which stands for Big, Ugly, Diamond. Anderson said he got the name because of the diamond’s pitted surface and mottled brown color.
“Mr. Anderson’s diamond is about the size of an English pea, with a light brown color and octahedron shape,” said Park Interpreter Tayler Markham. “It has a metallic shine typical of all diamonds found at the park, with a partially resorbed surface and lots of inclusions.”
Anderson’s diamond is the largest gem found at the park since September 2021 when a visitor from Granite Bay, California discovered a 4.38-carat yellow diamond at the site. It is the largest brown diamond from the park since the Kinard Friendship Diamond, a 9.07-carat gem found on Labor Day 2020. The Kinard Friendship Diamond was discovered by Kevin Kinard of Maumelle and is the second-largest diamond found at Crater of Diamonds State Park.
So, what does Anderson do with all of the diamonds he discovers? He said he sells them locally, just like he plans to do with B.U.D.
As of March 2023, 124 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year. An average of one to two diamonds are found by park visitors each day.