Crater of Diamonds Newsletter

Ever wondered what happens to one of those large Crater of Diamonds gems after it leaves the park? The following is the rest of the story of the Silver Moon diamond, a 2.44 carat beauty found on March 20, 2011

On January 10, 2012, Kenny and Melissa Oliver drove from their home in Rosston, AR, to Underwood’s Fine Jewelry in Fayetteville, AR. Their goal was to pick up a 1.06 carat pear-shaped diamond worth over $21,000 that had been cut from their 2.44 carat Silver Moon diamond.

The Oliver’s had always known about the diamond mine. On the weekends they liked to go hunting for Civil War relics and arrowheads. Melissa was the one that really wanted to go diamond hunting, so for Mother’s Day in 2009 she picked the Crater for their weekend outing. The first day was disappointing--they didn’t find a diamond. They found the whole experience frustrating. The shiny glitter-like mica flakes were everywhere and they had no idea what a rough diamond would look like.

However, in the park gift shop they bought Glenn Worthington’s book Genuine Diamonds

Found in Arkansas, and every night Melissa read it aloud to Kenny. Over the next weekends, when they came back to the Crater, Kenny would talk to some of the “regular” experienced miners. On September 29, 2009, they finally found their first diamond, a tiny 3 pt. white. After that, they were truly hooked and faithfully came back every weekend. Melissa says that they came because “they just had to see what’s in that dirt”. Up to the day that they found the Silver Moon, their biggest diamond was a 37 pt. brown that they found on July 5, 2010.

In their diamond hunting partnership, Kenny was the one who would get the dirt, and Melissa washed it through their screens. On that March day, Melissa saw the Silver Moon diamond shining up at her from the ¼” screen. She says “there was no doubt that it was a diamond, and I yelled for Kenny.” At first they didn’t plan to sell the diamond. However, they learned that it could not be graded and certified unless it was cut. That knowledge led to the decision to cut the naturally beautiful rough diamond.

The cut Silver Moon diamond is close to a perfect diamond, according to the Gemological Institute of America’s grading report. Its color is an “F”, which is two steps down from the best grade of “D”. The cut is a pear brilliant, which is close to the best cut of a round brilliant. Its clarity grade, which measures the number, type and size of any flaws, is a VVS2, only one level down from the best grade of a VVS1. Finally, its polish and symmetry are both very good.

In the last 3 years the Oliver’s have really enjoyed their weekly trips to the Crater. Melissa says that “the park’s staff members are all very helpful and friendly. They are as excited about our finding the diamonds as we are.” Their next goal, of course, is to find an even bigger diamond. Right now they have 89 Crater diamonds, so the 90^th could be that really big diamond, which would put them in the park’s Top 100 Diamonds list.

NOTE: On Thursday, January 12, 2010, Marvin Culver, a longtime Crater friend and supporter passed away of a stroke at his home in Nowata, OK. In March, 2006 Marvin and his family made their first trip to the diamond mine. While he was sifting dirt he found the beautiful, 4.21 carat, canary yellow, Okie Dokie Diamond. The Today Show flew Marvin, his wife Lyndall, and niece and nephew to New York City, where Katie Couric interviewed them. After that Marvin returned every year to the Crater for Spring Break or John Huddleston Day. He took an active interest in the park with encouraging emails and cards to park staff. He will be missed.

Search area last plowed: October 20, 2011; Most recent heavy rain: January 10, 2012

January 10 - Billy & Sara Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 6 pt. white, 11 pt. brown, 12 pt. white, 14 pt. white, 25 pt. white; Daniel J. Kinney III & Jessica Higley, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, 3 pt. yellow, 10 pt. white; Eytan Elterman, San Francisco, CA, 11 pt. brown

January 14 - Ricky Roton, El Dorado, AR, 11 pt. white; Billy & Sarah Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 12 pt. yellow, Justin Killibrew, Provo, AR, 11 pt. white