Arkansas man learns the 'interesting and shiny' crystal he found is a 9.07-carat diamond

Kevin Kinard has visited Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park numerous times over the last 25 years, and "never in a million years" did he dream that he would end up finding a 9.07-carat diamond.

Kinard, a 33-year-old bank manager, first visited Crater of Diamonds State Park on a field trip in the second grade. On Labor Day, he went to the park with some friends to see if they could find any gemstones or minerals, and after sifting for about 10 minutes, Kinard decided to take a walk. While doing some surface searching, he spotted a crystal about the size of a marble. "It kind of looked interesting and shiny, so I put it in my bag and kept searching," Kinard said in a press release. "I just thought it might've been glass."

At Crater of Diamonds State Park, visitors hunt for gemstones, rocks, and minerals on the eroded surface of a volcanic crater, and workers at the Diamond Discovery Center are available to help identify what they found. Kinard said he almost didn't stop to have his finds checked because he didn't think he came across anything special, and when he was told he discovered a 9.07-carat diamond — the second-largest ever found in the park's 48-year history — he was in "complete shock."

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Kinard decided to name his diamond the Kinard Friendship Diamond, choosing the moniker because "we love to travel together and had such a great time out here. It was a very humbling experience."