Oklahoma Teenager Finds 3.85-Carat Canary Diamond

Oct. 21, 2013 — -- When Oklahoma teenager Tana Clymer heard about a young boy who'd found a 5-carat diamond at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park earlier this year, she wanted to try her luck.

Tana, 14, and her parents traveled to the park, an eroded surface of an ancient volcanic crater and the only diamond-bearing site open to the public, from their Oklahoma City home. She had been digging and sifting through dirt in the 37-acre park for about two hours when something caught her eye.

"I thought it was a piece of paper or foil from a candy wrapper," Tana said, according to the Arkansas State Parks website.

It was a jellybean-size, teardrop-shaped, yellow stone.

"Then, when I touched it, I thought it was a marble," she said. "I think God pointed me to it. I was about to sprint to join my family, and God told me to slow down and look. Then I found the diamond."

Tana said she said a prayer of thanks and named her diamond the God's Jewel diamond.

Park experts evaluated the diamond and told her it was a 3.85-carat canary diamond. The park has a finder-keepers policy, so the diamond is Tana's to keep.

"No two diamonds are alike, and each diamond finder's story is unique, too," assistant park superintendent Bill Henderson said in a statement.

"What an experience for Tana to remember the rest of her life," he said. "Tana told me that she was so excited she couldn't sleep last night. She's either going to keep the diamond for a ring, or if it's worth a lot, she'll want that for college."

Tana's is the 396th diamond found so far this year in the park. More than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at the site since 1906. Other semi-precious stones and minerals, including amethysts, garnets and quartz, are also there for the finding.

In August, 12-year-old Michael Dettlaff of North Carolina found a 5.16 carat diamond at the same park, which was the 27th largest diamond a park has found since Arkansas' diamond site became a state park in 1972.