A casual question to a virtual assistant led to an exciting discovery for a Texas family at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.
James Ward, a 41-year-old high school teacher from Cypress, found a 2.09-carat brown diamond on December 30, while visiting the park with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two sons, Adrian (9) and Austin (7).
Their journey began in mid-December at the family’s home. “One day we were watching TV, and Austin came and said, ‘Mommy, Mommy, is there any place in Texas or nearby that we can mine for crystals?’” Elizabeth Ward recounted.
After asking Siri for nearby mining locations, the family was directed to Arkansas’ diamond site. “I sent the link to James, and he’s like, ‘Oh wait, that’s only like six hours away. We can go!’”
With no set plans for the holidays, the family quickly organized their trip and arrived at the Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Though they spent four hours searching the first day, the winter weather nearly cut their trip short. Elizabeth Ward noted that they originally considered heading home early. “We were so cold! We were here for, like, four hours. It was freezing, but Adrian was the one who wanted to come back,” she said.
The family’s decision to return for a second day proved fruitful. After just two more hours of searching, James was raking through dirt with his fingers near the West Drain section of the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area when he spotted a metallic-looking crystal in the soil.
“I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was different than everything else I had found,” he said.
He picked up the shiny stone and put it in a paper sack with the rest of the family’s finds. Before leaving, they stopped by the park’s Diamond Discovery Center, where staff confirmed that James had found a 2.09-carat diamond.
Assistant Park Superintendent Waymon Cox said: “Mr. Ward’s diamond is about the size of a corn kernel, with a dark yellowish-brown hue and a beautiful, metallic lustre characteristic of all Crater diamonds.”
Cox also noted that the shield-shaped gem is a broken crystal.
“Crater diamonds formed in the upper mantle and were carried to the surface by an ancient volcanic pipe…Most are chipped, broken, or include flaws from the immense geological forces they endured. Given its current size, you can imagine how much bigger Mr. Ward’s diamond might have been as a complete crystal!”
Many visitors choose to name the diamonds they find at the Crater of Diamonds State Park. James called his gem the “Ward Diamond” to commemorate the special experience with his family.
As for the future of the diamond, he is keeping his options open. “No idea,” he said when asked if he plans to sell or keep it. “I’ll have to see how much it’s worth first.”
The Ward Diamond was one of five diamonds found on the surface of the search area in December. At the close of the year, park staff had registered 540 diamonds.
In total, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at the Crater of Diamonds State Park since the first diamonds were discovered in 1906 by John Huddleston, a farmer who owned the land long before it became an Arkansas State Park in 1972.
The largest diamond ever discovered in the U.S. was unearthed in 1924 during an early mining operation on land that later became part of Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Named the Uncle Sam, this white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats. It was later cut into a 12.42-carat emerald shape. It is now part of the Smithsonian’s mineral and gem collection and can be seen at the National Museum of Natural History.
Located on Arkansas Highway 301 in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, Crater of Diamonds State Park is one of the only places in the world where the public can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source.
