Manhattan woman finds 2.3-carat diamond for engagement ring after three-week quest

A New York woman recently discovered a 2.3-carat white diamond in an Arkansas state park while hunting for the perfect stone for her engagement ring.

Micherre Fox — a 31-year-old Manhattan resident — decided years ago that she wanted to find her own diamond. On July 8, she traveled to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas to begin her search, according to a news release from Waymon Cox, the park’s assistant superintendent.

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“There’s something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage,” Fox said in a statement. “You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work.” 

Fox spent three weeks scouring the park’s 37.5-acre search area. On July 29, her final day at the park, she noticed a glimmer near her feet. At first, she thought it may have been a spiderweb, but upon closer inspection, she realized it was a diamond, according to the news release.

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“Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn’t know for sure, but it was the most “diamond-y diamond’ I had seen,” Fox said in a statement.

Park staff confirmed the gem was a diamond, and Fox was immediately flooded with emotion — falling to her knees crying and then laughing, according to the news release.

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The gem — which is about the size of a human canine tooth — is the third-largest diamond discovered so far this year at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Fox has since named her gem “Fox-Ballou Diamond,” after the last names of her and her partner, according to the news release.

Since the Crater of Diamonds became an Arkansas state park in 1972, park visitors have discovered and kept over 35,000 diamonds. Adults can participate in gem hunting at the park, which is open to the public, for a fee of $15 per day, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier this year, a Minnesota resident unearthed a 3.81-carat brown diamond in the state park.