Watch: 4.87-carat, nearly-colorless diamond found at Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas
Dec. 20 (UPI) -- An Arkansas man who visited Crater of Diamonds State Park for the first time later discovered what he thought was a clear piece of glass was a 4.87-carat diamond.
Jerry Evans of Lepanto said he had only been at the park in Murfreesboro when he picked up what he thought was a clear piece of glass and pocketed it.
"I thought it might be a piece of glass, it was so clear. I really didn't know," he told Arkansas State Parks officials. "We were picking up everything thinking it was a diamond."
A while after leaving the park, he decided to have the object examined by the Gemological Institute of America just to make sure.
A few weeks later he received word that what he thought was glass was actually a 4.87-carat diamond that was nearly completely colorless.
"When they called and told me it was real, I was tickled to death," Evans said.
He later contacted Crater of Diamonds State Park to register his find.
"While I get many emails from people wanting me to identify something they've found here, to my recollection, this is the first time someone has contacted me after they've had a diamond identified by the GIA," Assistant Park Superintendent Waymon Cox said in a news release. "I'm glad that Mr. Evans was able to bring his historic diamond back to the park to have it officially registered."
Park officials said Evans' diamond was the largest found at the former mine since a 9.07-carat brown diamond was unearthed in 2020.
