Downsizing? Determined to get rid of stuff you no longer need? Cleaning out a home or an estate? Stop! Know Before You Throw.
BREAKING NEWS: Teen finds 7.44 carat diamond after only 30 minutes of searching.
What? Really? You might ask, “How does this happen and where?”
Well, let me tell you about a unique place where diamonds are just lying on the ground, waiting for you to pluck them from the dirt with your bare hands, as this 14-year-old individual did on March 11. I’m really not kidding.
If you haven’t finalized your summer vacation plans, you might want to consider this place. It’s called the Crater of Diamonds State Park, located on the edge of Murfreesboro, Ark. Not Africa, not India, not Russia but Arkansas, in the good old United States of America.
For the paltry sum of $10, you, too, can root through the dirt and perhaps find a diamond or two. Theses diamonds are in the rough, of course, but all polished diamonds start that way.
Around 1906, the first diamond was discovered at the site of the future park. On July 15, 1952, the area became a commercial venture open to the public. In the early 1970s, the land was established as an Arkansas State Park.
Since the park started keeping records, in 1972, there have been a reported total of 32,444 diamonds found through 2016. The largest diamond recovered during this time was 16.37 carats in size, found by a Texas visitor, in 1975. That diamond was cut into the 7.50 carat Amarillo Starlight. Last year, a total of 501 diamonds were found by tourists at the park.
While most of us will never visit the park to seek our treasure in the dirt, many of us have treasures in our dresser drawers in the form of old or unwanted jewelry. It might be broken, outdated or hold unpleasant memories. Don’t just discard it, however, without knowing the value of what you have. Who knows, that old jewelry just might be your diamond in the rough and worth enough to fund your summer vacation.
Jon Englund has more than 25 years of experience in appraising and liquidating personal property, jewelry, art, collectibles, antiques, furniture, printed items and more. A Midwest transplant, Jon trained at New York University in appraisal studies.
For more information, call (480) 699-1567. You also can send an email to Jon@KnowBeforeYouThrow.INFO.