A 71-year-old woman found a nearly 3-carat diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park after searching for about 10 minutes, according to a news release.
State park officials did not release her name but said she was a retiree from Aurora, Colo. She found a 2.63-carat ice-white diamond while on a September trip with her family, the release states.
She picked up the gem between the East Drain and North Wash Pavilion in the park, officials said, but didn't initially realize that the stone she had found was a diamond, giving it to her son to hold. About an hour later, park staff told the 71-year-old what she had found, according to the release.
The woman told officials she was "shocked" after learning of her discovery.
Park interpreter Waymon Cox described the diamond as "about the size of a pinto bean" and added that it is "shaped somewhat like a fingernail" with brown marks across its surface.
The retiree named her find Lichtenfels, a German word that translates as "a rock between two lights" and is the name of her hometown in Germany, the release states.
Park officials said that 256 diamonds have been registered so far in 2018. Altogether, the stones weigh 49.64 carats, and five of the gems have weighed at least 1 carat.
NW News on 09/27/2018