Kalel Langford was taking a break from a Little League baseball tournament he was participating in to casually dig through the muck in search of diamonds. He was fortunate enough to discover what park officials say is the seventh-largest diamond ever found at the park.
"It was just a few inches from a stream of water, with a bunch of other rocks that were about the same size," Kalel told reporters. He nicknamed it Superman's Diamond, as he shares a name with the Kryptonian name of Superman, Kal-el. Kalel's family say that the similar names are a coincidence.
"We had only been at the park for about 30 minutes when he found it," said Kalel's father, Craig Langford. "Its color was so dark that we weren't sure if it was a diamond, but we knew we needed to have it looked at."
Kalel says he intends to keep the diamond as a souvenir. He might change his mind once the gemstone is valued: 7-carat diamonds have been known to sell for anywhere from $80,000 to $1.2 million. Superman's Diamond has yet to be valued.
"Conditions were ideal for Kalel to find his diamond. About an inch of rain fell on the plowed search area during the week. A heavy rain can uncover larger diamonds near the surface. Diamonds have a metallic-looking shine and are often easier to spot on top of the ground," said park official Waymon Cox.
"Kalel's diamond is about the size of a pinto bean, and it's very dark brown, similar to coffee. Overall, the gem has a frosted appearance and is shaped somewhat like a pillow or a kite."
Kalel is not the first to discover an impressive gemstone at Crater of Diamonds State Park. The park opened in 1906 and 75,000 gemstones have been discovered since then, including the largest diamond ever discovered in the United States, the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam Diamond.
More recently, an 8.52-carat diamond valued at around $1 million was discovered in 2015.
"This diamond is a truly extraordinary find," said Cox. "It was Kalel's dream to visit the Crater of Diamonds State Park, and now he will always be part of this park's remarkable history. We are all very happy for him."
