While mining for engagement ring materials, man finds 2.2-carat diamond

Christian Liden already struck gold, and earlier this month, he found the diamond necessary to finish a ring for his fiancée.

Liden knew he wanted to design a ring for his bride-to-be using materials he mined. Over the last five years, Liden has panned for gold, and after he discovered enough to create a band, he moved on to the diamond. Earlier this month, he traveled from his home in Washington to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, and on day three, after an hour of searching, he found a triangular stone.

"I saw it shining as soon as I turned the screen over and immediately knew it was a diamond," Liden said in a news release. "I was shaking so bad, I asked my buddy to grab it out of the gravel for me." The stone was a 2.2-carat, one-of-a-kind yellow diamond. Liden isn't done yet — on his way back to Washington, he will stop in Nevada to mine for opals, as he wants to create another ring for his fiancée with various stones he found during his mining adventure.

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