For American gem hunter Jack Pearadin, that moment arrived when he unearthed a 6.03-carat yellow diamond in Arkansas, a state in the southern United States. Finding a diamond after years of searching is a dream few people get to realise. The discovery, made at Crater of Diamonds State Park, is his biggest find in more than a decade of searching.
Pearadin livestreamed the discovery on TikTok, exclaiming in excitement as he rinsed the gravel and revealed the stone. Subsequently named Motswedi, it is one of the largest rough diamonds ever recovered. He had been visiting the park since 2013 and had already found more than 300 diamonds. certified gem appraiser Laura Stanley estimated that a high-quality yellow diamond of this size could fetch around $250,000 Although collectors reportedly suggested it could be worth $1 million. In August 2024, Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. announced the discovery of a 2,492-carat diamond at its Karowe mine in Botswana. The Gemological Institute of America examined the remarkable stone in 2025.
Pearadin discovered the diamond while searching with his friend Michael Schumacher, according to the Associated Press .
The park allows visitors to search for diamonds and keep what they find. Some of the world’s largest rough diamonds have been discovered in southern Africa. Here are three notable examples. It was cut into several stones, including Cullinan I, which forms part of the British Crown Jewels.
Its most famous discovery is the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam diamond, found in 1924. The stone was later cut into a 12.42-carat gem and is now part of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s collection. The Cullinan diamond was discovered near Pretoria in South Africa in 1905. Weighing 3,106.75 carats in its rough form, it remains the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found.
