Man hunting for gems at state park spots something 'glowing' in the gravel: 'I was shaking'

A longtime gem hunter who struck it big with a rare yellow diamond is now opening up about the remarkable discovery — and what it may be worth.Jack Pearadin, a Navy reservist, found the gem at the Crater of Diamonds State Park earlier this year.The gem, which Pearadin named the "American Dream," weighs 6.03 carats.It has a striking golden-yellow color and an unusual, almost square shape.STUNNED COUPLE UNEARTHS 150-POUND MYSTERY HIDDEN BENEATH THEIR BACKYARD FOR DECADESThough the discovery was first announced earlier this year, Pearadin recently opened up about the find to The Associated Press.Arkansas state officials said Pearadin discovered the diamond during a Jan.

25 TikTok livestream while processing a bucket of gravel that he and his friend, Michael Schumacher, had collected from the park's search area in late December. Schumacher was traveling at the time.Jack Pearadin, shown at left, and his friend Michael Schumacher, at right, collected gravel from Crater of Diamonds State Park's search area."I turned back and saw [the gem] glowing from the center of the pile," Pearadin said.  (Arkansas State Parks)The hunt came shortly after a winter storm coated the area with more than an inch of ice, making it especially difficult to sift and wash the gravel."I was about eight feet away, and for some reason I turned back and saw [the gem] glowing from the center of the pile," Pearadin said.ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER MYSTERIOUS FACE HIDDEN FOR CENTURIES IN BOOK OF REVELATION CITY"I had to go almost to the bottom of the pile to pull it out, it was so big.

I was shaking!"Pearadin's reaction was captured in real time during a TikTok livestream."Oh my God! Oh my God!" he was recorded as saying."We got a big one!"A longtime gem hunter discovered the 6.03-carat yellow "American Dream" diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

In a photo provided by Pearadin, a man named Brian Busse, shown above left, holds the diamond on Aug.9, 2026, in Buena Vista, Colorado.

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