On September 13, a family from Cookson visited Crater of Diamonds State Park and unearthed a gorgeous brown diamond weighing nearly three carats.

Raynae Madison said she and her family came to Arkansas for the weekend to celebrate her nephew’s birthday when they decided to stop by the world-famous Crater of Diamonds State Park.

To prepare for their visit, Madison said they purchased a beach digging kit and sand sifting tools from a dollar store. The family then picked a spot to dig on the north side of the park’s 37.5acre diamond search area, near Prospector Trailhead.

After digging a few buckets, they were sifting dirt through their purchased screens when Madison noticed an unusual oblong, 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!”

After showing her family, they took the stone to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center, where staff identified it as a diamond weighing 2.79 carats. The diamond is described as chocolate brown, with unique inclusions.

“Brown diamonds from the Crater occur due to a process called plastic deformation, which creates structural defects during a diamond’s formation or movement in magma,” Emma O’Neal, Park Interpreter at Crater of Diamonds State Park, said. “These defects reflect red and green light, combining to make the diamond appear brown.”

Many visitors choose to name the diamonds they find at Crater of Diamonds State Park. Madison chose to name her gem the William Diamond, in honor of her nephew.

The William Diamond is the third-largest diamond registered at the park this year, surpassing a 2.30-carat diamond found at the end of July.

“2025 has been a great year for large diamond finds,” O’Neal said. “So far, we have registered four diamonds weighing over two-carats.”

As of date, 403 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year.