Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas had its latest treasure uncovered by 14-year-old Kalel Langford. He found a 7.44 Carat winner among some rocks while hunting around near a stream after only 30 minutes of searching the park grounds.
The teen calls the diamond “Superman’s Diamond,” and plans to keep it instead of immediately cashing in on its value. His prize is brown in color, and about the size of a large pea. It’s also squarish in shape, still pretty much a diamond in the rough. The park is no stranger to big gem finds, and has a legacy of such discoveries.
Young baseball player scores big at Crater of Diamonds https://t.co/1VzSLxI6kP pic.twitter.com/TUuiXsoZoh
— Cleveland 19 News (@cleveland19news) March 16, 2017
The teen’s 7.44 carat find is Crater of Diamonds’ seventh largest find since 1972. The largest diamond discovered on the property was found before the land was publicly owned. It’s a 40.23 carat powerhouse, the Uncle Same diamond, discovered in 1924.
Kalel mentioned the surroundings in which he found the diamond to park officials on the Crater of Diamonds State Park website.
“It was just a few inches from a stream of water, with a bunch of other rocks that were about the same size.”
Park Interpreter Waymon Cox commented on the significance of the young man’s find.
“This diamond is a truly extraordinary find. It was Kalel’s dream to visit the Crater of Diamonds State Park, and now he will always be part of this park’s remarkable history. We are all very happy for him.”
The last diamond found larger than this 7.44 carat one was a 8.52 carat diamond found in 2015 by Bobbie Oskarson.
Crater of Diamonds is a park people go to specifically to hunt for diamonds. It has been an Arkansas diamond mine open to the public since 1972. Before it was public land, it was just land purchased by a local farmer. The first diamond was discovered on the property in 1906. In the ensuing years, the land was either purchased by private diamond mining companies or by individuals before it was sold to the state.
Today, Crater of Diamonds State Park welcomes individuals to dig into its soil or peruse its surface in search of gems they can take home and keep. The park also allows visitors to rent diamond finding tools, and offers visitors education in methods used to sift diamonds from soil using both dry and wet methods, and also methods for searching the land’s surface. This Arkansas diamond mine is located on 37.5 acres.
Kalel Langford’s diamond discovery is the biggest of 2016 and 2017, and a historic find for Crater of Diamonds State Park.