[Rockhounds] 'Big Ugly Diamond' discovered by Arkansas state park visitor

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

*A diamond discovered at an Arkansas state park has been dubbed "Bud" by
the man who discovered it.*

"That's for 'Big, Ugly Diamond,'" said David Anderson, a lucky tourist from
Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Anderson found the 3.29-carat brown diamond on 4 March at Crater of
Diamonds State Park.

One or two diamonds are found every day at the park, which permits visitors
to keep the diamonds they find.

The gem was found on a Saturday trip to the park's 37.5-acre diamond
searching zone, park officials said in a news release on Wednesday.

"At first I thought it was quartz but wondered why it was so shiny," Mr
Anderson said.

"Once I picked it up, I realised it was a diamond!"

Mr Anderson said he has been travelling to the park since first hearing
about it on TV in 2007.

"After I found my first diamond, a 1.5-carat white, I was hooked," he said,
adding that he has found more than 400 diamonds since then.

Other top finds he has made include a 3.83-carat yellow diamond found in
2011 and a 6.19-carat white diamond found in 2014.

Like the others, Mr Anderson says he plans to sell his recent discovery to
jewellers in his area.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64972005