On Friday, July 22, nine-year-old Grace Houston, of Forestdale, Missouri, visited Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park with her family for the first time. The temperature was about 100 degrees at the park that day, and like most of the country, Murfreesboro, Arkansas was under a heat advisory. The heat index was so intense that the Houstons considered only looking for diamonds one day. However, Grace was determined to find a diamond and declared that she would return for a second day of searching, even if it meant searching alone!
While wet sifting alongside her grandmother on July 23, Grace discovered a 1.53-carat white diamond in the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area, the eroded surface of an ancient, diamond-bearing volcano.
Grace wants to be a geologist when she grows up, and her family has encouraged the pursuit of her passion. They began planning a visit to the Crater of Diamonds about six months ago and surprised Grace with the news a few days before leaving for Arkansas. After an exciting diamond find, this family vacation turned out to be one that Grace will never forget.
When asked if she plans to make her gem into a necklace, Grace immediately declared that was not an option. After someone else suggested that Grace save it to place in an engagement ring, she replied, “No! I would never put such a rare and special and precious thing into an expensive piece of jewelry!”
For now it seems that Grace’s diamond is destined to stay in its natural state, loved and treasured by a young lady from Missouri.
