For Manhattan resident Micherre Fox, it’s been the dream she’s chased for two years. Now she’s finally found the right diamond for her engagement ring! On July 29, Fox made a trip to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. During her visit at the park, she found a glorious 2.3-carat diamond! She named the gem the Fox-Ballou Diamond, after herself and her partner. This magnificent gem was the third-largest diamond found in the national park during 2025.
Fox’s mission started two years ago when she made the decision to search for her own diamond instead of buying one. Crater of Diamonds State Park was her first choice home. It’s the only public site in the world where visitors are allowed to search for diamonds and keep what they find! Since its creation as a state park in 1972, it has produced more than 35,000 diamonds.
During her visit of nearly three weeks, she spent nearly every day focused on digging at the park for diamonds. Yet her determination was worth it, as she finally saw her tenacity rewarded when she noticed a shimmer within the park’s large, 37.5-acre search area.
When you touch the earth in your hands, you touch something primal and fundamental. No amount of research or education can come close to matching the experience of feeling that palpable energy. It was daunting! Fox remarked about her experience.
Once she found the stone, she took it to the Diamond Discovery Center where they were able to have it officially confirmed, solidifying her monumental find. Over 350 diamonds have been unearthed at the park this year alone. This amazing discovery highlights Arkansas’ well-earned status as one of the world’s top diamond-seeking sites.
Reflecting on her experience, Fox stated, “After all the research, there’s luck and there’s hard work.” She expressed her initial uncertainty upon finding the diamond, saying, “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.”
