When Noreen Wredberg saw she wasn’t too far away from a state park known for its diamonds, she knew she and her husband needed to stop. It paid off big time.
Written content from Maddie Capron
Wredberg and her husband Michael of Granite Bay, California, have spent a lot of time traveling and exploring national parks across the country during their retirement.
They were on a trip to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas last week when she realized they were near the country’s only diamond mine that’s open to the public.
“I first saw the park featured on a TV show several years ago,” she told Arkansas State Parks in a news release. “When I realized we weren’t too far away, I knew we had to come!”
The couple made a last-minute stop at Crater of Diamonds State Park and started exploring. About 40 minutes later, Wredberg found a sparkling stone on the ground and handed it to her husband.
It ended up being a 4.38-carat yellow diamond, the largest diamond found at Crater of Diamonds so far this year, park officials said.
“When I first saw this diamond under the microscope, I thought, ‘Wow, what a beautiful shape and color,’” Park Superintendent Caleb Howell said in the news release. “Mrs. Wredberg’s diamond weighs more than four carats and is about the size of a jellybean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow color.”
The couple was shocked they found a diamond. They said they weren’t expecting to find anything, especially not a diamond so large.
Park visitors often have better luck finding a diamond after a good rain, rangers said. More than an inch of rain fell at the park days before Wredberg’s discovery.
“She was in just the right place to see her diamond sparkle in the morning sunlight,” Howell said.
It ended up being a 4.38-carat yellow diamond, the largest diamond found at Crater of Diamonds so far this year, park officials said.
“When I first saw this diamond under the microscope, I thought, ‘Wow, what a beautiful shape and color,’” Park Superintendent Caleb Howell said in the news release. “Mrs. Wredberg’s diamond weighs more than four carats and is about the size of a jellybean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow color.”
The couple was shocked they found a diamond. They said they weren’t expecting to find anything, especially not a diamond so large.
Park visitors often have better luck finding a diamond after a good rain, rangers said. More than an inch of rain fell at the park days before Wredberg’s discovery. Read more from Sacbee
