An Arkansas man finds a 4.87-carat diamond during his very first visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park, within the first 10 minutes of mistaking it for glass
- Jerry Evans found the diamond while strolling through the park with his girlfriend.
- A test revealed it was a nearly colorless diamond weighing 4.87 carats – the largest found in the park since 2020.
- The happy couple will get to keep their find, which they have named the 'Evans Diamond'.
An extremely lucky man unearthed a 4.87 carat diamond during his very first visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.
Jerry Evans, of Lepanto, was wandering through the park with his girlfriend when, after ten minutes of walking, he came across what he thought was a piece of glass.
He picked it up and put it in his pocket without thinking about it before going home.
He told Newsweek: 'I thought it was a piece of glass, it was so clear. I really didn't know. We picked it all up and thought it was a diamond.”
Only after returning home did Evans decide to send the shard to the Gemological Institute of America for a professional appraisal.
Jerry Evans thought the diamond was a shard of glass when he saw it while walking through the park
He put it in his pocket and didn't think about it anymore, but when he got home he decided to have it tested
Weeks later, he received a very unexpected email confirming that the gemstone was a virtually colorless diamond.
He said: 'When they called and said it was real I was tickled to death.'
Crater of Diamonds State Park is a 911-acre parcel of land in Pike County, Arkansas.
It is one of the few diamond-rich sites in the world open to the public, with 37.5 hectares of land where visitors can search for a variety of rocks and minerals.
In the park, visitors can even keep everything they encounter during their walks.
To date, the park has yielded more than 35,000 diamonds.
It is difficult to say what the monetary value of the diamond is because, in addition to carat, it depends on the cut, clarity and color.
The largest diamond ever found in the US was found there: the 'Uncle Sam' of 40.23 carats.
State park officials said Evans' discovery — which he dubbed the “Evans Diamond” — is the largest in the past three years.
He sent it to the Gemological Institute of America, which determined that it was indeed a diamond
Jerry gets to keep his remarkable find, which he has named the 'Evans Diamond'
In 2020, Kevin Kinard of Maumelle found a 9.07 carat brown diamond.
Assistant Park Superintendent Waymon Cox told Newsweek, “I am pleased that Mr. Evans was able to bring his historic diamond back to the park to have it officially registered.
'Mr. Evans' diamond is spectacular to see. It is a complete crystal with a beautiful white color reminiscent of many other large white diamonds I have seen here in the past.'
Evans encouraged other people to try their hand at diamond hunting. He said, 'Come and seek, for there is an opportunity. They're out there.'
Park officials said 798 diamonds were recorded at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2023, totaling more than 125 carats.