Family finds 2.79-carat brown diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park using dollar-store tools
An Oklahoma family discovers a 2.79-carat brown diamond during a visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, naming the gem the William Diamond amid one of the park's largest finds this year.
A family visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas on Sept. 13 discovered a brown diamond after digging with inexpensive tools purchased at a dollar store, park officials said. Raynae Madison, of Oklahoma, and her nephew William were at the park to celebrate his birthday when they began digging in the park's 37.5-acre diamond search area.
Madison initially thought the find looked neat but wasn't sure what it was. The group showed the stone to relatives and then took it to the park's Diamond Discovery Center, where staff identified it as a brown diamond weighing 2.79 carats. Madison named the gem the William Diamond in honor of her nephew.
Park officials described the diamond as chocolate brown, with unique inclusions. It is the third-largest diamond unearthed at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year. Officials say more than 400 diamonds have been unearthed at the park in 2025.
Emma O'Neal, the park interpreter, said 2025 has been a great year for large diamond finds. The brown color is caused by plastic deformation during a diamond's formation or movement in magma, creating defects that reflect red and green light.
The year's other notable finds include a 3.81-carat brown diamond discovered in April by David DeCook of Minnesota. The largest diamond discovered at Crater of Diamonds this year was that 3.81-carat stone; the park notes the largest diamond ever found in the United States was the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, discovered in 1924 at Crater of Diamonds and now part of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Since Crater of Diamonds State Park opened in 1972, visitors have unearthed 36,824 diamonds weighing a total of 7,267 carats, according to Arkansas State Parks. Since the first diamonds were found in the area in 1906 by farmer John Huddleston, officials estimate more than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed in the region.
Arkansas State Parks does not appraise diamonds found at Crater of Diamonds; their value cannot be determined until they are cut and polished.