Man creating own engagement ring left ‘shaking’ by his shiny find in Arkansas park

Continuing his five-year quest to make his own engagement ring, Christian Liden encountered the ultimate discovery earlier this month.

Liden, a 26-year-old native of Poulsbo, Washington, had already accumulated enough gold while panning in his home state. His search to find a stone to put in between that gold took him to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, located about 2,300 miles away from his hometown.

And where better for Liden to find a gem than in one of the few places where the public can search for diamonds in their original volcanic source?

Liden and a friend built their own mining equipment and spent three days at the 37-acre site searching for the gemstone, according to Arkansas State Parks. Finally, he discovered the precious stone while wet sifting.

“I saw it shining as soon as I turned the screen over and immediately knew it was a diamond,” Liden said, according to the park. “I was shaking so bad, I asked my buddy to grab it out of the gravel for me!”

The discovery was a 2.20 carat yellow diamond — the largest diamond found at the park this year, the park said.

Dru Edmonds, assistant superintendent at the park, described the diamond as being triangular in shape with “a sparkling, metallic luster.” It contains very little material trapped inside.

Liden said his goal was to find smaller stones at the park and buy the center stone at a later time. His discovery altered his plans in a big way.

“As beautiful as this diamond is, I think the best part is the story behind it,” Edmonds said in a news release. “Since the eighth grade, Mr. Liden has dreamed of creating a special ring for his future wife, with stones and gold he mined, himself. And now he can make that dream come true!”

More than 33,000 diamonds have been unearthed at the park since 1972. The policy at the park is “finders, keepers,” meaning visitors get to keep anything they discover.

This story was originally published May 26, 2021 at 8:11 AM with the headline "Man creating own engagement ring left ‘shaking’ by his shiny find in Arkansas park."