MURFREESBORO, Ark. — A man made a remarkable discovery after making an impromptu stop at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park earlier this month.
On Jan. 11, Arkansas State Parks said Julien Navas, who was visiting Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park from Paris, France, found a 7.46-carat diamond on the surface of the state park’s 37.5-acre search area.
Navas came to the United States to see the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur Rocket launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida, before heading to New Orleans, the park said. Along his journey, he learned about the Crater of Diamonds State Park and decided to stop by.
Before his visit, the area received more than an inch of rain, the park said, according to USA Today. The area was wet and muddy.
Navas purchased a ticket and a diamond-hunting kit at the park, according to USA Today. He then got to work.
“I got to the park around nine o’clock and started to dig,” he said. “That is back-breaking work so by the afternoon I was mainly looking on top of the ground for anything that stood out.”
“We periodically plow the search area to loosen the diamond-bearing soil and promote natural erosion,” Assistant Park Superintendent Waymon Cox said. “As rain falls on the field, it washes away the dirt and uncovers heavy rocks, minerals and diamonds near the surface.”
After hours of searching, Navas brought what he found to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center, the park said. There, it was learned he found a brown diamond that weighed about 7.46 carats.
The diamond was a deep chocolate brown color and was the size of a candy gumdrop, the park said.
“It is a magical place, where the dream of finding a diamond can come true! It was a real great adventure,” Navas said.
Navas decided to name the gem after his fiancée, the Carine Diamond, the park said. He hopes to one day cut it in half so he can give one to his fiancée and one to his daughter.
It is the largest diamond found at the park since 2020, according to People magazine. It is also the eighth-largest registered at the park since 1972.
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