A Washington man made a wonderful discovery while he was mining materials for an engagement ring, according to KIRO 7.
Reporters said 26-year-old Christian Liden spent five years looking for raw materials for a ring in the Evergreen State. Needing gemstones, his hunt took him to an Arkansas park known for its diamonds.
Liden and a friend arrived at the park on May 7 and spent hours mining. The 26-year-old found what he was looking for by the third day.
“I saw it shining as soon as I turned the screen over and immediately knew it was a diamond. I was shaking so bad, I asked my buddy to grab it out of the gravel for me,” he said. The park's Diamond Discovery Center confirmed the triangular stone Liden found was a 2.2 carat yellow diamond.
It's also the largest gemstone found there since October last year, park officials noted. Liden got to name his stone Washington Sunshine.
“As beautiful as this diamond is, I think the best part is the story behind it,” Dru Edmonds said, park assistant superintendent. “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.”
Officials said park visitors have found 121 diamonds so far this year. Liden was actually planning on mining for some more after his initial discovery.
“I was just hoping to find a couple smaller stones and had planned to buy a center stone later, but that won’t be needed now,” he said.
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