Chatfield couple mine 1.90-carat diamond

Abby Sharpe, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·1 min read

Nov. 11—MURFREESBORO, Ark. — A Chatfield couple went on an anniversary trip and returned with a diamond.

Jessica and Seth Erickson visited Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, as a part of their 11-state road trip celebrating their 10th anniversary.

Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only public diamond mine in the U.S. The Ericksons visited the state park and found what every visitor hopes to: a diamond.

After digging through dirt for a few hours, the Ericksons transitioned to wet sifting, which is a technique to find diamonds that requires two screens to be submerged in water in order to wash soil away. Seth didn't need to wait for the soil to wash away, though. He spotted a metallic-looking gem in the bottom of his screen after an hour of wet sifting.

The Ericksons brought the gem to the Diamond Discovery Center at the state park, where staff registered it as a 1.90-carat brown diamond.

The couple named their diamond HIMO, after each of their children's initials.

So far, 581 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year, averaging out to one to two diamonds found by visitors every day.