Woman nudges ‘spiderweb’ with her boot. It was actually a 2.30-carat diamond

Weeks of planning — following weeks of sifting — led a woman to an unforgettable find at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

Searching for a diamond for her engagement ring, 31-year-old Micherre Fox made the discovery July 29 when she nudged what she believed was an “iridescent, dew-covered spiderweb,” according to an Arkansas State Parks news release.

But when the New York native examined the object closer, it revealed itself as “a very shiny stone,” one she picked up for further examination.

“Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn’t know for sure, but it was the most ‘diamond-y diamond’ I had seen,” Fox told state park officials.

Park officials confirmed it was a 2.30-carat diamond, the third largest find at the site this year.

“I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,” Fox said.

After completing graduate school, Fox dedicated a month to her search for the diamond and went to Crater of Diamonds State Park, where visitors are allowed to keep anything they discover.

Fox planned the trip for two weeks, then began her mission on July 8. But near the end of her three-week visit, she had yet to find what she was there for.

That is until the last day of her trip, when she uncovered the diamond described as being the size of a human canine tooth.

Park officials said the gem “has a smooth, rounded shape and a beautiful metallic luster” with blemishes that suggest it had a “violent origin deep within the Earth’s mantle.”

She may have found the elusive diamond to set in her engagement ring, but Fox said no planning could have prepared her for the adventure.

“After all the research, there’s luck and there’s hard work,” she said. “When you are literally picking up the dirt in your hands, no amount of research can do that for you; no amount of education can take you all the way. It was daunting!”

She used her and her partner’s last names to name the gem the Fox-Ballou Diamond.

Her find is one of 366 diamonds that have been registered this year at the state park, including 11 that are at least 1 carat.

Crater of Diamonds State Park is in Murfreesboro, about a 110-mile drive southwest from Little Rock.