A man has discovered a 3.29-carat brown diamond at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park, officials announced Tuesday.
David Anderson, of Murfreesboro, spotted the gem -- about the size of an English pea, with a light brown color and octahedron shape -- on March 4 while wet-sifting soil from the West Drain of the park's 37.5-acre diamond search area, according to park officials.
Anderson's diamond is the largest park staff have registered 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.
To date, 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.
Over the last 16 years, Anderson has found more than 400 diamonds, including 15 weighing over one carat, according to the park. His other discoveries include a 3.83-carat yellow diamond found in December 2011 and a 6.19-carat white gem discovered in April 2014, park officials said.