Arkansas man unearths 35,000th diamond found at Crater of Diamonds State Park

MURFREESBORO, Ark. — A little over a week ago, Scott Kreykes registered his 50th diamond found at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2022, credited now as the digging site’s 350,000th unearthed diamond since the park opened in 1972.

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Kreykes, a seasoned gem hunter, has found a total of 80 diamonds at the site since he first began digging there four years ago, according to a news release issued by the park.

According to park officials, Kreykes recently spent a day sifting dirt from the East Drain of the diamond search area and took his sifted gravel home to reexamine later.

“Each visitor that comes to the park is allowed to take one 5-gallon bucket of sifted gravel home with them per day. Some visitors like to resift their gravel at home or wait for it to dry to look for the metallic shine of a diamond,” Park Interpreter Tayler Markham told the Texarkana Gazette.

Kreykes’ diligence paid off when he noticed a pearl-shaped diamond in his haul.

On Sept. 6, the park’s Diamond Discovery Center staff registered Kreykes’s latest find as a 3-point white diamond, KARK-TV reported.

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“Diamonds are weighed in points and carats. One hundred points is equal to one carat, like pennies to a dollar. Most diamonds found at the park weigh between 20 and 25 points,” Markham told the Gazette.

Park staff confirmed to KARK that Kreykes’ milestone find also earned the Dierks, Arkansas, resident a free, two-night stay at an Arkansas State Park, recognition from Murfreesboro officials and a display for his diamond and registration card.

As of Wednesday, 512 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2022, with an average of one to two diamonds found by park visitors each day, the TV station reported.

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