Jack Piradin finds 6.03‑carat yellow diamond live on TikTok
A U.S. Navy reservist discovered the park's largest diamond this year while livestreaming a gravel sift at Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Jack Piradin, a U.S. Navy reservist who has spent more than 12 years hunting for gemstones, found a 6.03‑carat yellow diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas while livestreaming his search on TikTok.
Piradin spotted the stone after washing a bucket of gravel and emptying the contents onto a table during the live broadcast. The yellow diamond — about the size of a thumbnail — is the largest recovered in the park this year.
Valuation and reaction
Collectors who examined reports of the find told him the gem could be worth more than $1 million. Piradin and his friend Michael Schumacher have nicknamed the stone "American Dream."
Piradin has been searching the park since 2013 and says he has found more than 300 gems to date. His hobby became so central to his life that he relocated to nearby Murfreesboro to be closer to the search site.
The discovery, captured live on social media, highlights both the luck and persistence involved in amateur prospecting at one of the few public sites where visitors may legally search for diamonds and keep what they find.
Photo: AP)
