David DeCook, an avid stone collector, discovered the groundbreaking find while scanning the floors at Arkansas’s Crater Of Diamonds State Park.
The Stewartville farmer told FOX9 that he and his brother had been going to the park for more than 20 years.
He stated that they usually go two to three times per year to look for diamonds.
The successful treasure hunter admitted that it “took a while to sink in” after discovering the gem.
DeCook stated that about an hour into one of their recent visits with their father last week, he noticed a glimmering object on the floor and picked it up.
He explained, “It kind of looks like a candy wrapper, very shiny, like a Werther’s candy wrapper.
“As you get closer to it, you can tell it is a diamond pretty quick.”
The startling discovery was a 3.81 carat brown diamond.
He nicknamed the rock “The Duke Diamond” after his hunting dog.
It was the largest diamond he had ever discovered, as well as the largest found in the park this year.
The jackpot winner stated, “I was very surprised, I guess, and never thought I would find one that big.”
“You never know what you will find. “It is an opportunity of a lifetime.”
He also stated that he is unsure what he will do with the diamond right now.
But the fortunate farmer wishes to return next winter and hunt again.
“It is kind of an interesting deal,” he reflected.
“Probably never happen again for me, but somebody else would be next.”
The Arkansas State Park has a 37.5-acre plowed field, one of the few diamond-bearing sites open to the public.
Diamonds have been found there since 1906, and it was designated a state park in 1972.