Credit: Arkansas Crater of Diamonds
CENTERTON, Ark. — A 14-year-old Arkansas teen walked out of an Arkansas state park with a flashy find — his very own 7.44-carat diamond.
The massive diamond was found on Saturday in the southern part of the Arkansas Carter of Diamonds park, according to KFSM.
Kalel Langford spotted the brown gem in a stream, according to park officials.
Credit: Arkansas Carter of Diamonds
“We had only been at the park for about 30 minutes when he found it,” said Kalel’s father, Craig Langford. “Its color was so dark that we weren’t sure if it was a diamond, but we knew we needed to have it looked at.”
The diamond is a unique find — even at a diamond park.
“Kalel’s diamond is about the size of a pinto bean, and it’s very dark brown, similar to coffee,” Cox said. “Overall, the gem has a frosted appearance and is shaped somewhat like a pillow or a kite.”
The diamond is the 7th largest found at the park since 1972. An 8.52-carat gem was found at the park in 2015.
More than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed in the park since the first diamonds were discovered there in 1906, according to CNN.
According to the park’s website, adults pay $10 admission to search for diamonds inside the park. A 3.85-carat diamond found by a 14-year-old teen in 2013 was later sold for $20,000, according to the park.
The largest rough diamond ever discovered in Crater of Diamonds State Park (and the largest ever found in the United States) is the Uncle Sam Diamond, which was found in 1924 and was a hefty 40.23 carats, according to the park website.
