Family finds diamond worth thousands in US park

Raynae named the diamond the William diamond after her nephew whose birthday it was

A family visiting a state park in Arkansas has found a nearly 3-carat brown diamond worth thousands of dollars.

While a diamond is not usually something you expect to find at a national park, this was no ordinary park, but the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

Raynae Madison and her family travelled there with a beach digging kit in hope of finding treasure, and discovered the diamond which was later found to be 2.79 carats.

Raynae chose to name her gem the William Diamond, in honour of her nephew whose birthday the family was celebrating.

The William Diamond is the third-largest diamond registered at the park this year.

"2025 has been a great year for large diamond finds!" said Emma O'Neal.

"So far, we have registered four diamonds weighing over two-carats."

While the size of the diamond may be unusual, finding one at the park isn't.

On average, two diamonds are found per day by park visitors and recent numbers shows 403 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year.

The park is built on a volcanic crater which attracts treasure hunters looking for gems

The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is a 37-acre field on the surface of a volcanic crater where people can search for diamonds and other gemstones.

After digging a few buckets, they were sifting dirt through a screen when Raynae noticed the shiny stone.

"At first I thought it looked really neat, but I wasn't sure what it was," she said. "I honestly thought it was too big to be a diamond!"

The diamond is described as chocolate brown and is the third-largest diamond found at the park this year.

"Brown diamonds from the Crater occur due to a process called plastic deformation," said Emma O'Neal from the Crater of Diamonds State Park.

"These defects reflect red and green light, combining to make the diamond appear brown."