Arkansas Man Stumbles Upon Peculiar Piece Of ‘Glass’ In State Park That Changes His Life

It all began at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, a 37.5-acre swath of Little Rock, Arkansas, that attracts thousands of tourists each year. While most state parks offer sights and activities aimed at relaxation, this one puts its guest to work.

Crater of Diamonds is actually the world’s only diamond-bearing site open to the public, with visitors having unearthed more than 33,000 diamonds since the park’s founding in 1972. But these aren’t just pebbles they’re pulling out of the ground — these diamonds are huge.

In fact, the largest diamond ever unearthed in the U.S. — a 40.23-carat boulder known as Uncle Sam — turned up in the Crater of Diamonds fields. Fortunately, the park isn’t too concerned about what happens with the stones once they’re found.

Crater of Diamonds employs a “finder’s keepers” policy, allowing guests to take home whatever diamonds they dig up — and sell them for a pretty penny, too. One visitor back in 1990 unearthed a 3.03-carat white gem and eventually sold it for a whopping $34,700! Not bad for a day at the park.

Naturally, the promise of vast riches has drawn amateur prospectors from all over the globe to Crater of Diamonds, with many Little Rock locals also getting in on the fun. Among them was Kevin Kinard, an Arkansas native who’s been something of a regular since the second grade.

But unlike many of the visitors that frequent the park, Kevin wasn’t a geologist or a world traveler — he was the manager at a bank in his hometown of Maumelle. Still, whenever he wasn’t busy counting bills, Kevin could be found at Crater of Diamonds in search of the next big find.

Unfortunately, Kevin’s past visits to the park had proved somewhat fruitless, with only a few gems turning up here and there. But on the morning of Labor Day 2020, Kevin’s fortunes in the fields would change forever.

Kevin was understandably pessimistic about his prospects that day, even as the group of friends that’d accompanied him excitedly got to work. Despite digging deeper than ever before with the help of state-of-the-art equipment, Kevin’s heart just wasn’t in it.

That’s why, even as his friends egged him on, Kevin called it quits after just 10 minutes. He decided to take a stroll in search of any surface gems, though given how many times the fields had already been combed over, he didn’t expect to find much.

But as Kevin scanned the dirt for anything white and shiny, something else caught his eye. He rushed over, excitedly taking the stone in his hand — only to realize it was a small piece of glass.

Disappointed as he was, Kevin decided to hold on to the tiny shard, knowing he needed something to show for his walk through the fields. He returned to his friends, and together the group set off to have their finds appraised.

They were met by an expert at the park’s Diamond Discovery Center, who immediately went to work identifying the stones the group had brought along. Kevin was hesitant to share his haul, though after some convincing, he revealed the few pebbles he’d found — the piece of glass included.

It didn’t take long for the expert to identify most of the stones, with their true identities revealed to be common gemstones and other native minerals. Even Kevin’s finds were mostly of the common variety, though the small shard of glass proved to be an anomaly.

After few minutes of examination, the expert decided to give the glass a quick polish, revealing a sparkling glimmer brighter than anything he’d ever seen before. At that moment, everyone knew exactly what this piece of glass really was.

It was a diamond! At a full 9.07 carats, it was the largest and purest diamond found in the park since the legendary Amarillo Starlight was unearthed back in 1975 — and it was Kevin’s for the taking.

News of the incredible find spread quickly throughout the prospecting community, with many racing to the fields to unearth a motherlode of their own. But according to the Assistant Superintendent of Crater of Diamonds, Dru Edmonds, he believes that Kevin’s discovery was truly meant to be.

Edmonds revealed that the conditions were perfect for Kevin that day, as park staff had recently plowed the area in preparation for Tropical Storm Laura. The sun was also out as Kevin was walking and shined perfectly onto the diamond for him to see.

Kevin also thinks his discovery was meant to be, as he happened to find the 9.07-carat diamond on September 7th (9/07). To honor the friends he’d been digging with that day, Kevin decided to call the gem the “Kinard Friendship Diamond.”

Regardless of its name, Kevin’s diamond is sure to fetch a small fortune if he decides to sell it, a testament to the value of these shiny little rocks.