American Diamonds

The admissions desk of the mine has samples of diamonds and the other gems likely to be found there. Many people studying the stones are dismayed though. "I wouldn't know a diamond if I saw one!"

That is not true, according to Shirley. "When you find a diamond you will immediately know it is a diamond."

She should know. Shirley was raised hearing diamond mine stories all her life. She grew up wanting to find her grandmother a diamond. Her grandmother's grandfather, Lee Wagner, was a guard for 35 years at the mine. He also had many inventions that helped diamond finders get lucky. Lee's brother-in-law John Huddleston, found the first diamond there in 1906.

It was John's land back in those days. He found a 4.5 and a 3 carat white diamond in one afternoon on his farm. Immediately after his discovery he sold the 160 acre farm for $36,000 to Samuel Winston Rayburn, president of Little Rock Union Trust Company.

After changing hands several times, the Crater was purchased by the state in 1972 and made into a State Park. On the books it is not an outstanding source of revenue. In 1995 the operating expenses were $518,070 while the revenues were only $475,991 which may explain the political movement to lease the mine out to a commercial developer again. Shirley and other enthusiasts are dead set against the plan.

"The diamond mine might have lost money at the gate, but those 40,000 people spent a whole lot of money elsewhere, on motels, food, gas, and entertainment. This mine is the only place in the world that you can dig for diamonds and keep all you find, legally anyway. We need to keep it open to the public."

The word " diamond" comes from the Greek word “adamas” meaning invincible. Diamonds were first used about 3,000 years ago in India and probably valued for their ability to refract light, although they were also said to be a strong talisman that protected the wearer in battle and warded off evil. Some of the legends associated with diamonds include a city of diamonds protected by snakes, and diamonds that were impervious to the hottest fires.

During the Dark Ages, St. Hildegard wrote that a diamond, held while making the sign of the cross, healed wounds and cured the sick. Hoping to cure sickness, people even tried eating them, although this practice was largely unsuccessful and had stopped by the Middle Ages, when diamonds became valued for their worth, rather than their healing properties.

It was during this time that diamonds acquired the reputation for being poisonous. The owners of diamond mines perpetrated this myth, in an attempt to stop workers from swallowing diamonds and thus smuggling them out of the mines. Around the world, from the earliest days, stories and myths about diamonds have been filled with tales of good luck, mystical power, beauty and love.

Two of the world’s largest and most beautiful diamonds were discovered in India during the Middle Ages – the Blue Hope and the Koor-I-Noor. In fact, India still provides the foremost diamond polishing industry in the world today.

Smaller diamond finds continued, in Borneo, Brazil and the Crater of Diamonds here in America, but even those finds weren’t enough to keep up with the demand, as India’s diamond supply dwindled. It was in the mid-19th century that the biggest diamond rush occurred, with the discovery of diamonds near the Orange River in South Africa. Diamonds were also discovered in Australia eventually, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that Australia’s potential as a diamond producer became proven. In 1979, the Argyle pipe was discovered near Lake Argyle. It is the richest diamond deposit in the world, and now produces over a third of the world’s diamonds every year.

1. CUT. Not the shape of the stone, but the quality of its facets.
2. CLARITY. Clarity levels start at Flawless and descend from Very Very Slight (VVS) to Very Slight (VS) and Slightly Included (SI). Clarity measures the number of flaws or inclusions in a diamond.
3. CARAT. The weight of a diamond. One carat equals about 200 milligrams.
4. COLOR. Transparent diamonds (those created from 100 percent carbon) are rated on a scale from D (clear) through Z (light yellow). Grade D is the most prestigious, but, because they are so rare, natural diamonds with tints of pink, blue or purple have a cachet all their own.

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