ARKANSAN FINDS STUNNING 2.04-CARAT YELLOW DIAMOND
DUBBED THE “EASTER SUNRISE DIAMOND” AT ARKANSAS’S CRATER OF DIAMONDS STATE PARK
Glenn Worthington of Springdale has visited Arkansas’s diamond site, the Crater of Diamonds State Park, many times over the past 30 years. His time spent prospecting in the park’s 37 ½-acre diamond search area has been rewarded many times with diamond finds. However, all of his diamonds except for one have weighed under a carat. On Thursday, April 9, 2009, Worthington discovered the largest of all his diamond finds, a stunning 2.04-carat canary diamond he named the Easter Sunrise Diamond.
Worthington was washing gravel that he’d dug out of the park’s east drain, a low area in the park’s diamond search area, when he found the yellow diamond in his screen.
It was in the last bucket he planned to wash before shutting down for the Easter weekend. The diamond has a smooth, lustrous surface with no cracks or internal spots of graphite. It is an elongated, complete crystal that would yield itself well to a marquise cut, but Glenn and his wife Cindy do not plan to cut or sell this special diamond. They are going to keep their diamond and enjoy it in its natural form. Worthington dubbed his bright yellow stone the Easter Sunrise Diamond because that is what he thought of when he saw it glowing up at him from his screen full of gravel.
Worthington noted that he has produced a DVD that teaches others how to find diamonds in Arkansas and has written a book about the history of the Crater of Diamonds, but this large a diamond find has eluded him for decades. His said that his fellow diamond mining enthusiasts have all congratulated him on yesterday’s find.
Margi Jenks, one of the park geological interpreters on staff at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, noted, “It is Glenn’s persistence and passion for the Crater of Diamonds State Park that finally paid off with this beautiful gem.”
According to Park Superintendent Tom Stolarz, “The gem’s canary color is a bright yellow, very remindful of the yellow on an American Goldfinch.”
Crater of Diamonds State Park is the world’s only diamond-producing site open to the public. Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The three most common colors found at the park are white, brown and yellow, in that order.
Stolarz said that canary diamonds are often found at the park and are included in the list of the Crater of Diamond’s notable diamond finds. Because of the brightness of their yellow color, canary diamonds are sometimes referred to as lemon or lemon drop stones. Stolarz continued, “Here at the Crater of Diamonds, canary diamonds are among the most sought after stones by our park visitors.”
An average of two diamonds a day are unearthed by park visitors at the Crater of Diamonds. According to park records, during 2008 a total of 946 diamonds were found at the park. Twenty seven of those diamonds weighed over one carat. Worthington’s 2.04-carat Easter Sunrise Diamond is the largest of the 296 diamonds found at the park so far this year.
In total, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at Arkansas’s diamond site since the first diamonds found in 1906 by John Huddleston, the farmer who at that time owned the land, long before the site became an Arkansas state park.
The park staff provides free identification and certification of diamonds. Park interpretive programs and exhibits explain the site’s geology and history and offer tips on recognizing diamonds in the rough.
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!
Field Last Plowed: March 30, 2009
Diamond Finds for April 6 - 12, 2009 (100 points=1 carat)
April 6 - Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 48 pt. white; David Hamlet, Tampa, FL, 7 pt. white, 16 pt. white
April 7 - Glenn Worthington, Springdale, AR, 6 pt. brown, 6 pt. yellow
April 8 - David Hamlet, Tampa, FL, 5 pt. white, 16 pt. brown; Claud Dill, Murfreesboro, AR, 25 pt. white; Glenn Worthington, Springdale, AR, 30 pt. brown, 31 pt. white; Bob Wehle, Ripon, WI, 46 pt. white; David Anderson, Kent City, MI, 7 pt. white; Tammie Noah, Wills Point, TX, 22 pt. white; Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 4 pt. white, 8 pt. yellow; David Hamlet, Tampa, FL, 4 pt. white
April 9 - Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 2 pt. brown, 10 pt. white, 11 pt. brown, 12 pt. white; Glenn Worthington, Springdale, AR, 2.04 ct. yellow
April 10 - Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 4 pt. white; Glenn Worthington, Springdale, AR, 10 pt. white, 11 pt. yellow; Bob Wehle, Ripon, WI, 3 pt. yellow, 6 pt. white, 23 pt. brown
April 12 - Denis Tyrrell, Murfreesboro, AR, 4 pt. white; Craig Agin, St. Petersburg, FL, 78 pt. yellow
