Man finds 2-carat diamond at state park
By mbrooks on July 30, 2019
A man found a 2.12 carat diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. The man found the largest diamond of the park in 2019.
Josh Lanik, a 36-year-old schoolteacher from Nebraska, was on vacation when he saw the jelly bean-sized diamond.
According to a press release from the park, Lanik took his family to the park to look for amethysts when he saw something different.
“It was blatantly obvious there was something different about it. I saw the shine, and when I picked it up and rolled it in my hand, I noticed there weren’t any sharp edges.”
Lanik has the weather to thank for his good fortune.
Park Interpreter Waymon Cox said that recent rainfall unearthed a large number of diamonds.
“About 14 inches of rain fell at the park on July 16. In the days after the rainfall, park staff registered numerous diamonds found right on the surface of the search area, including two weighing over one carat,” he said.
The press release states that because diamonds are heavy for their mass and do not retain static electricity mud does not to stick to diamonds.
The park interpreter, Waymon Cox, described the unique color and shape of the diamond.
“Mr. Lanik’s gem is about the size of a jellybean and has a dark brown color, similar to brandy. It has a beautiful natural pear shape and smooth, curved facets that give the gem a metallic shine,” Cox said.
The park says that visitors have unearthed more than 75,000 diamonds at the park since the first discovery in 1906. The owner of the land discovered the first diamond there prior to the area becoming a state park.
