A U.S. Navy Reserve serviceman who has been sifting through rocks in Arkansas for more than a decade found a 6.03-carat diamond that collectors believe could be worth more than $1 million. The Independent reports, UNN writes.
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Jack Pireidin openly admits that his hobby of searching for gemstones has never made him any money.
However, the stone he dug up with a friend in one of Arkansas’s fields earlier this year did not resemble anything he had found before. Collectors told him that the diamond could be worth more than $1 million.
One experienced appraiser said that a diamond of such size and quality could be worth a quarter of that amount.
The discovery took place during a livestream of Pireidin’s search on TikTok.
"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Pireidin exclaimed.
This is the largest diamond found this year at Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Since the former open-pit diamond mine became part of the state park in 1972, more than 37,000 diamonds have been found there.
For $15, park visitors can fill a five-gallon bucket with rocks, and they can keep any gemstones they find.
Most of these finds are small and may be worth a few hundred dollars.
The largest diamond ever found in the United States—a 40.23-carat stone called the Uncle Sam—was found in this park in 1924.
According to park employee Sarah Beavens, between 400 and 800 diamonds are found there each year, most of them weighing about a quarter of a carat.
However, larger stones are also found, said the park’s deputy manager, Waymon Cox.
In 2020, an Arkansas bank manager found a 9-carat diamond in the park. In 2024, a French tourist dug up a 7-carat diamond there.