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CRATER OF DIAMONDS STATE PARK, AR — A North Carolina boy took home a large and possibly valuable souvenir from vacation last month when he found a 5.16 carat diamond.
Michael Dettlaff, 12, was on vacation at the Crater of Diamonds State Park with his family on July 31, when he picked up a rock about the size of a jelly bean. The smooth, oily stone turned out to be a 5.16 carat honey brown diamond.
“We were probably there about 10 minutes and I was looking around on the ground and found it on top,” Michael told ABC. “It was very glassy. Very smooth.”
Michael named the precious stone “God’s Glory Diamond.” And while it is a far cry from the largest diamond found in the state park – the largest was found in 1924 and weighed 40.23 carats – it could be worth as much as $15,000 and is the 27th largest diamond in the state park.
The family did not know what they had until Michael went to park authorities to help him identify his findings.
“When I brought this rock out of the bag the guy who’s there, he just went bug-eyed and he said, ‘Hang on a second. I need to take this to the back room,’” Michael said. “So then people start coming from everywhere and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah. It’s a big diamond.’”
According to the state park’s website, two diamonds are found, on average, each day. Many are about the size of a matchstick head, and visitors can find white, brown or yellow diamonds in the park. Any diamond found by a visitor is theirs to keep as a souvenir.
“If it can get cut and it’s valuable, I think I’d probably want to have it cut and sell it,” Michael told ABC. “If it’s not, well, then it’s a souvenir.”
Since 1906, more than 75,000 diamonds have been found in the state park.
