Fox had spent three weeks at the park after deciding two years ago to find her own engagement diamond. “I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen,” she said.
A 31-year-old woman has found a 2.3-carat white diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Pike County, Arkansas — and plans to use it for her engagement ring.
According to Arkansas State Parks (ASP), Micherre Fox discovered the gem on July 29 while walking along the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area. “I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,” she said.
Fox had spent three weeks at the park after deciding two years ago to find her own engagement diamond. “I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen,” she said. “It turned out the only place was right in our backyard, in Arkansas!”
She named the gem the “Fox-Ballou Diamond” after her and her partner’s surnames. ASP said it is the third-largest diamond found at the park this year, where the “finders, keepers” policy allows visitors to keep their discoveries.
“After all the research, there’s luck and there’s hard work,” Fox said. “When you are literally picking up the dirt in your hands, no amount of research can do that for you.”