NEW EAST DRAIN IN THE CRATER OF DIAMONDS SEARCH AREA HAS UNEARTHED MANY DIAMONDS OVER THE PAST MONTH

       Over the past month, the East Drain has become a popular area to search for diamonds.  According to Park Interpreter Waymon Cox, “The quantity and quality of diamonds coming from this area is significant.  It has quickly become one of the most successful trenching projects of the past six years.” 

     In total, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at Arkansas’s diamond site since first diamonds were found here in 1906 by John Huddleston, the farmer who at that time owned the land long before it became an Arkansas state park.  The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed here in 1924 during an early mining operation.  Named the Uncle Sam, this white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats.  Other large notable finds from the Crater include the Star of Murfreesboro (34.25 carats) and the Star of Arkansas (15.33 carats).

      The largest diamond of the 28,000 discovered by park visitors since the Crater became an Arkansas state park in 1972 was the 16.37-carat Amarillo Starlight.  W. W. Johnson of Amarillo, Texas, found this spectacular gem-quality, white diamond in 1975.

     In June 1981, the 8.82-carat Star of Shreveport was added to the growing list of large valuable stones found at the Crater.

     Another notable diamond from the Crater of Diamonds that has received much national attention is the 1.09-carat, D-flawless Strawn-Wagner Diamond.  Discovered in 1990 by Shirley Strawn of nearby Murfreesboro, this white gem weighed 3.03 carats in the rough before being cut to perfection in 1997 by the renowned diamond firm Lazare Kaplan International of New York.  The gem is the most perfect diamond ever certified in the laboratory of the American Gem Society.  Renovations are currently underway at the Crater of Diamonds State Park visitor center.  When they are completed, this diamond will once again be on display there.

     Another gem from the Crater, the flawless 4.25-carat Kahn Canary diamond, discovered at the park in 1977, has been on exhibit at many cities around the U.S. and overseas.  The uncut, triangular-shape diamond was featured in an illustrious jewelry exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium in 1997 that included precious stones from throughout the world including the Kremlin collection, the Vatican, Cartier and Christies.  And, in late 1997, the Kahn Canary was featured in another prestigious exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York entitled The Nature of Diamonds.  Former First Lady Hillary Clinton borrowed the Kahn Canary from its owner, Stan Kahn of Pine Bluff, and wore it in a special, Arkansas-inspired ring setting designed by Henry Dunay of New York.  Mrs. Clinton chose to wear the gem as a special way to represent Arkansas’s diamond site at the galas celebrating both of Bill Clinton’s presidential inaugurals.

     Other semi-precious gems and minerals found at the Crater of Diamonds include amethyst, garnet, peridot, jasper, agate, calcite, barite, and quartz.  Over 40 different rocks and minerals are unearthed at the Crater making it a rock hound's delight.