Grandfather Finds Rare 2.29-Carat Yellow Diamond While Taking His Granddaughters On Family Outing

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — What began as a simple family outing turned into an extraordinary treasure hunt when a Tennessee grandfather discovered a 2.29-carat yellow diamond while spending the day with his two young granddaughters at Arkansas’ famous Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Barry G. Smith of Germantown, Tennessee, visited the park with his wife and granddaughters, Sage and Juniper, on August 16. The family had come simply to enjoy a day outdoors and try their luck at searching for gemstones. They rented a small wagon and basic prospecting equipment and began sifting through the soil in the park’s East Drain area.

About 30 minutes into their search, Smith noticed a small object glittering in the sunlight. At first, he assumed it was mica, a common mineral known for its shiny appearance. He put the stone in his shirt pocket and continued searching with his grandchildren.

It was only when he brought the stone to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center, where visitors can have their finds examined for free, that he learned what he had actually found.

Park employees immediately recognized it as a diamond. “It was dumbfounding when I first saw the diamond,” Ralph Hall, the park’s facility supervisor, said, noting that the stone’s shape and color immediately reminded him of another major diamond discovered at the site earlier this year.

Smith was stunned. “I never expected to find a diamond here,” he said. “The potential was there, but you never come here expecting to find one.”

Because Arkansas allows visitors to name diamonds they discover at the park, Smith chose the name Sage Juniper Diamond, combining the names of his two granddaughters who had accompanied him on the outing.

The 2.29-carat gem is approximately the size of a small pea and is particularly notable because of its yellow color. According to park officials, most of the diamonds discovered at the Crater of Diamonds are white, clear or brown. Yellow diamonds are considerably less common. The color of a natural yellow diamond is generally caused by trace amounts of nitrogen incorporated into the diamond’s crystal structure during its formation deep within the Earth. The nitrogen alters the way the crystal absorbs and reflects light, producing its characteristic yellow appearance.

The park did not place a monetary value on Smith’s diamond. Park officials are not professional gem appraisers and instead recommend that significant finds be examined by a qualified jeweler or gemological expert.

Smith’s discovery is remarkable not only because of its size but also because of where it was found. The Crater of Diamonds State Park, located near Murfreesboro in southwestern Arkansas, sits on the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic formation. Geological activity brought rocks and minerals from deep within the Earth’s mantle toward the surface, including diamonds.

Unlike virtually every commercial diamond mine, however, the site is open to the general public. Visitors are allowed to search the 37-acre diamond-bearing field and keep any diamonds or other minerals they find. The park says visitors find an average of one or two diamonds per day. By the time of Smith’s discovery, park visitors had registered 351 diamonds in 2026, making his 2.29-carat stone the third-largest registered at the site this year.

And there have already been several spectacular discoveries. Earlier this year, two visitors found a 6.03-carat diamond, while other recent visitors have uncovered diamonds weighing more than two and three carats.

The park has a remarkable history of major finds. According to Arkansas State Parks, more than 30,000 diamonds have been discovered by visitors since the site became a state park in 1972. The site is also home to some of the largest diamonds ever found in the United States, including the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, discovered there in 1924.

For Smith, however, the value of the discovery appears to be as much sentimental as financial. He came to Arkansas looking for a fun day with his granddaughters. Instead, he went home with a rare yellow diamond named after them.