Large Yellow Diamond Found at Crater of Diamonds State Park

KAIT Reports that California Woman Found a 4.38-carat yellow diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

MURFRESSBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - When a California woman returns home from her visit to Arkansas, she will be carrying a bright, shiny souvenir.

During a recent visit to the Crater of Diamonds State Park, Noreen Wredberg of Granite Bay, Calif., found a 4.38-carat yellow diamond.

It is the largest diamond discovered at the Murfreesboro park this year.

According to a Thursday news release from Arkansas State Parks, Wredberg found the giant gem sitting on top of the ground within an hour of searching.

“I didn’t know it was a diamond then, but it was clean and shiny, so I picked it up,” she said.

She gave the stone to her husband, Michael, who took it to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center for identification. Park staff told him he was in possession of a very large yellow diamond.

“When I first saw this diamond under the microscope, I thought, ‘Wow, what a beautiful shape and color!’,” said Park Superintendent Caleb Howell. “Mrs. Wredberg’s diamond weighs more than four carats and is about the size of a jellybean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow color.”

Park Interpreter Waymon Cox said the Wredbergs picked the perfect day to hunt diamonds.

“Many visitors surface search for diamonds after a good rain. More than one inch of rain fell at the park between September 19 and 21,” Cox said. “The soil had dried a little, and the sun was out when Mrs. Wredberg visited two days later. She was in just the right place to see her diamond sparkle in the morning sunlight!”

Keeping with park tradition, Wredberg named her find “Lucy’s Diamond” in honor of her husband’s kitten.

“The name is sentimental to us,” she said. “Lucy is mostly gray but has slight tints of yellow in her fur, similar to the light yellow of my diamond.”