Colorado Woman Finds 8.52 Carat Diamond in State Park

A very lucky Colorado woman found an 8.52 carat diamond this week at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

Bobbie Oskarson of Longmont, Colo. discovered the diamond after only 20 minutes of searching. According to the park, it’s the fifth largest diamond discovered by a visitor since the state park was established in 1972.

The diamond is about three-quarters of an inch long and is as wide as a No. 2 pencil.

Oskarson is calling her find the Esperanza Diamond, which is her niece’s name as well “hope” in Spanish. She found the diamond in an area of the park called the Pig Pen, because it’s one of the muddiest spots. She currently plans to keep it.

“Ms. Oskarson’s eight-and-a-half-carat diamond is absolutely stunning, sparkling with a metallic shine, and appears to be an unbroken, capsule-shaped crystal. It features smooth, curved facets, a characteristic shared by all unbroken diamonds from the Crater of Diamonds,” said Park Interpreter Waymon Cox in a statement.