Teen Finds 3.85-carat Diamond at Arkansas State Park

A 14-year-old girl's first trip to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas will be one she never forgets after she unearthed a 3.85-carat canary diamond.

On Oct. 19., Tana Clymer and her family visited the state park -- where visitors are free to sift through nearly 38 acres of land and keep any diamonds they find -- after hearing about a 12-year-old who found a 5.16-carat diamond in the park earlier this year.

Clymer told park officials she had been digging and sifting through the dirt for about two hours, then, right when she was about to abandon her search location and rejoin her family, she spotted something glinting in the sunlight on the surface.

"I thought it was a piece of paper or foil from a candy wrapper. Then, when I touched it, I thought it was a marble." Clymer said. "I think God pointed me to it. I was about to sprint to join my family, and God told me to slow down and look. Then, I found the diamond!"

She said that she has named the canary gem, which is teardrop shaped and about the size of a jellybean, "God's Jewel Diamond."

The value of the gem is unknown at this time, but if it turns out to be worth a lot, Clymer said she would sell it and use the funds towards college. Otherwise, it will make a beautiful ring, she said.

On an average day, about two diamonds are uncovered at Crater of Diamonds State Park, according to park officials. Clymer's diamond is the 396th found this year, according to a park statement.

Earlier this year, a Kentucky man found a 2.95-carat champagne brown diamond at the park. He named his find the "Patriot Diamond" since he unearthed it on the Fourth of July.

Crater of Diamonds State Park, which rests on a 37.5 acre (15.2 hectare) plowed field of dirt in southwest Arkansas, is what's now left of a 95-million-year old eroded volcano. The park is the world's only diamond-bearing site that's accessible to the public, and visitors are free to keep what they find for themselves. An average of 600 gems -- diamonds, amethyst, garnet, jasper and more -- leave the park each year.

In 1924, the largest diamond ever discovered in the United States, a 40.23-carat white diamond named "Uncle Sam" was unearthed. Other large notable finds, according to the Arkansas Parks division, include the "Amarillo Starlight, a 15.33-carat white diamond discovered in 1975, and the Star of Shreveport, an 8.82-carat white gem unearthed in 1981. In 2011, an 8.66-carat white diamond named the Illusion Diamond became the third-largest gem registered at the Crater of Diamonds State Park since 1972."

The most perfect diamond ever certified by the American Gem Society, the Strawn-Wagner Diamond, was found at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 1990. Originally weighing 3.09 carats, the stone was cut down to 1.09 carats in 1997 and graded as certified D-flawless in clarity color and cut, according to National Geographic.