A 7.46-carat diamond was discovered by a prospector in an Arkansas state park

(CNN) — An improvised detour led a Parisian tourist to live a “great adventure” in America.

Julian Navas, who visited the US to witness the launch of the first US moon landing mission in decades from Cape Canaveral, Florida, also traveled to New Orleans. Along the way, he visited Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, according to the press release. Arkansas State Parks.

He had already searched for gold and ammonite fossils, so the park piqued his interest.

Visitors dig in the dirt at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. (Courtesy: Arkansas State Parks)

On Jan. 11, Navas arrived at the park, bought a ticket and rented basic diamond prospecting equipment, according to the news release.

“I came to the park around nine o'clock and started digging,” Nawaz explains in the statement. “It was tiring work, so in the afternoon I spent most of my time searching the surface of the land.”

Fortunately for Nawaz, the park received more than an inch of rain just days before his arrival, leaving it wet and muddy, according to the release.

“When it rains in the countryside, it washes away the dirt and exposes the heavy rocks, minerals and diamonds near the surface,” said Wayman Cox, the park's deputy superintendent.

Many of the park's largest diamonds are found above ground, Cox said, and park officials periodically plow the 15-hectare search area to loosen the soil and encourage natural erosion.

Finally, Navas arrived at the park's Diamond Discovery Center with what he had found. They said he had a brown diamond of 7.46 carats.

A 7.46-carat diamond was discovered by Julien Navas of Paris, France on January 11, 2024, during a visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. (Courtesy: Arkansas State Parks)

Nawaz said he was stunned by the report and could only think about telling his fiancee what he had discovered. According to the report, the stone was a deep chocolate brown, round like a marble and about the size of a candy jelly bean.

Nawaz named his diamond Kareen Diamond after his fiancee and plans to split it into two and give one to his fiancee and the other to his daughter.

The Carine Diamond is the eighth largest diamond found in the Crater of Diamonds since it became a state park in 1972, according to the news release. On average, park visitors find one or two diamonds a day. Diamonds were formed hundreds of millions of years ago, 60 to 100 miles underground.

Geologists explained that there was a about 100 million years ago Volcanic eruption According to the park's website, it washed diamonds to the surface.

Navas described the park as “a magical place where the dream of finding a diamond comes true! It's a great adventure.” Nawaz said she hopes to return to the park with her daughter when she grows up.