Superman: Teen finds large diamond at park,
While in southern Arkansas for a baseball tournament, Kalel Langford, 14, of Centerton, Ark., fulfilled a dream of visiting Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, Ark.
Kalel and his parents arrived at the diamond site on the afternoon of March 11.
By the end of the day, he had registered the seventh-largest diamond found at the Arkansas State Park since 1972. The diamond is 7.44 carats.
Kalel was walking near the east drain, in the southern portion of the park’s search area, when he spotted the shiny, dark brown gem, park interpreter Waymon Cox said.
“It was just a few inches from a stream of water, with a bunch of other rocks that were about the same size,” Langford said.
He picked up the gem and called to his father, Craig Langford, who was searching nearby.
“We had only been at the park for about 30 minutes when he found it. 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,” Langford said.
The family stopped by the Diamond Discovery Center to have their finds identified before leaving the park.
Kalel was shocked to learn he had found one of the biggest diamonds in the park’s history.
“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,” Cox said.
“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,” he said.
Kalel named his gem Superman’s Diamond, for his connection to the DC Comics superhero.
Craig Langford said, “When we chose to name him Kalel, we didn’t realize that [Kal-El] was also Superman’s birthname.”
Kalel plans to keep the diamond as a souvenir of his first visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park, Cox said.
According to Cox, “This diamond is a truly extraordinary find. 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.”
The diamond is the largest registered at the Arkansas State Park since June 24, 2015, when Colorado resident Bobbie Oskarson found an 8.52-carat white diamond she named the Esperanza. It is the largest brown diamond registered in nearly 40 years, topped in weight only by an 8.61-carat brown diamond found by Betty Lamle, of Hitchcock, Okla., in 1978.