Jack Pearadin had spent more than a decade searching for diamonds at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park, finding more than 300 gems along the way. Pearadin uncovered a 6.03-carat yellow diamond, roughly the size of a fingernail While livestreaming his search on TikTok. Collectors told him the stone could be worth as much as $1 million, although a certified gem appraiser who spoke to The Associated Press said a high-quality six-carat yellow diamond from the park can sell for about $250,000.
Pearadin and his friend Michael Schumacher of Wisconsin have named the stone the “American Dream”.
But earlier this year, his long-running hobby produced his most remarkable discovery yet.
Pearadin, a Navy reservist originally from Missouri, began searching for diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds in 2013. The discovery came on Sunday, 25 January, after Pearadin and Schumacher dug diamond-bearing dirt from the south end of the park’s search area in late December and concentrated it into gravel for later processing. The diamond is the largest found at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2026. It is the fourth-largest yellow diamond and the 22nd-largest diamond of any colour registered since the site became a state park in 1972, according to the park. It appears to be a hexoctahedron, a 48-sided crystal, whereas most diamonds found at the park have 12 or 24 faces.
Because the stone was found by members of the public rather than through a conventional commercial mining operation, the discovery also matters.
He told The Associated Press his passion for the hobby led him to move to nearby Murfreesboro. Pearadin and Schumacher named it the Pearadin Schumacher American Dream Diamond, inspired by the song “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)” and by the fact that they found it during America’s 250th anniversary year. Its glowing canary-yellow colour and unusual form make it distinctive. Pearadin described it as a massive, gorgeous yellow diamond. The Crater of Diamonds is one of the few places in the world where ordinary visitors can search for diamonds and legally keep what they find.
More than 37,000 diamonds have been discovered at the site since it became a state park, according to The Associated Press. The best known is the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, found in 1924 during an early mining operation on the land that later became the park. Other notable stones include the 15.33-carat Star of Arkansas, found in 1956, the 16.37-carat Amarillo Starlight, found in 1975, and the 8.52-carat Esperanza, found in 2015.
Most weigh about a quarter of a carat, and most are worth far less than Pearadin’s stone. Some stones from the site’s longer history have become famous. It remains the largest diamond ever found in the US.