Father-Daughter Gem Hunters Find 2.03-Carat Diamond

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A father and daughter team of gem hunters made quite the discovery earlier this month at a state park in Arkansas -- a 2.03-carat diamond.

Dan Frederick and his daughter Lauren were searching the side of a plowed furrow in Crater of Diamonds State Park for less than an hour when they stumbled upon the impressive rock.

The duo made the trip from Washington hoping to find gems at the mineral-rich park, but had never before searched for diamonds at that location.

"My dad and I have always loved to hunt for gems; we've dug for sapphires and garnets and always search for agates when we're on the Washington coast," Lauren Frederick told the State Parks of Arkansas website.  "Naturally, we had always wanted to go to Arkansas to dig for diamonds. As much as we have talked about the trip and planned it out, I think we're still kind of in shock that we found something as big and beautiful as our 'Lucky Diamond.'

At first, they almost couldn't believe their luck.

"When we first found the diamond we kept looking up pictures on the Internet to make sure it was real," she said. "We were so excited with our find that we actually walked around the park for another seven hours with the diamond in my dad's pocket, trying to find another one.  It really was the cherry on top of a fun and special trip with my dad.  Finding the diamond will be one of my favorite memories, especially since my dad and I found it together."

The park says that more than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at Crater of Diamonds State Park since the first discovery in 1906 by the farmer who previously owned the land.

The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed on the land of what is now the park in 1924 during an early mining operation. Named the Uncle Sam, the white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats.

A 8.52-carat diamond was also found in the park by visitors from Colorado last year.