Back at the Crater Again...

Diamonds are a girls best friend. But why are so many men interested in finding them? For their girls?

Hummmmmm. Curious to know. OK boys, what's the real deal here? Is your pursuit of the shiny glitz really to show off and present your treasure to the girl of your dreams?

I hit the trail two weekends ago and caught a reasonable flight out of my town to Little Rock. My mission was to get off of the plane and be digging in the dirt at the Crater of Diamonds State Park about two hours south of Little Rock before noon.

If you're not familiar with the park or the only diamond mine in North America that's open to the public, then you really need to check it out.

The Crater of Diamonds State park http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/ is one of my favorite treasure hunting spots. Anyone can find a diamond at the park. Well, let's clarify that. If you're in the right spot at the right time doing the right thing then you can find a diamond. Most folks don't even know that they have to meet the criteria. They just find one as they are walking along in between the furrowed rows.

Other folks work pretty hard at it and some take it up as a full time occupation. While I was there this time I had the privilege of meeting Diamond Jim and he was kind enough to give me some pointers.

Diamond Jim has found quite a few diamonds in his relatively short time at the mine. He's had some pretty good odds but he's down in hole every day working hard at it.

Check out the site and the Crater of Diamonds. It's a great place to go and try your luck sifting or surface mining for diamonds. Maybe you will be the one to find the next "Strawn Wagoner".

The "Strawn-Wagner Diamond" is the most perfect diamond the American Gem Society (AGS) ever certified. Graded the perfect grade of O/O/O (Ideal cut/D color/ Flawless), or "Triple Zero," it is the highest grade a diamond can achieve. This is the most perfect a cut diamond can be. A diamond this perfect is so rare than most jewelers and gemologists will never see one during their entire career. And it's so rare that it's one in a billion based on color and clarity.

Cool beans. It was found by Shirley Strawn and it's on exhibition at the Crater. Congrats Shirley! Wish I could have been there to share in the excitement!