Murfreesboro, AR — For most people, shopping for an engagement ring means browsing jewelers or scrolling through online stores. But for 31-year-old strategy consultant Micherre Fox, it meant spending three weeks camping and digging at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas — the only public diamond mine in the world.
Armed with a shovel, determination, and a dream to find an ethically sourced gem, Fox set out to unearth her own diamond before saying yes to an engagement.
“We’re not getting engaged until I do that,” Fox told NPR. “They come from the ground. What is stopping us from just getting one ourselves?”
The Mission to Find Her Own Diamond
Fox said the idea began about two years ago, when she started researching sustainable engagement options. After discovering that Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro allows the public to dig for diamonds, she knew she had to try.
After finishing graduate school, she and her boyfriend Trevor Ballou headed south from New York City. Fox stayed in a tent, digging daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., often skipping showers due to exhaustion.
“There were days where I wouldn’t shower for several days,” she said. “By the time I got out I was so tired and hurt… I couldn’t muster the energy to spend 10 minutes undressing and taking a shower.”
She described the experience as both physically grueling and mentally challenging, noting that her shovel was stolen at one point, forcing her to walk three hours round trip to the nearest hardware store to buy another one.
A Sparkling Discovery on the Final Day
On July 29, Fox’s final day at the park, she was ready to head home empty-handed. But as she scanned the ground one last time, she saw something glittering near her boot.
“I thought it was dew,” she said. “I pawed at it with my hiking boot, and it didn’t move.”
It turned out to be a 2.3-carat diamond — the third largest found at the park that year.
Crater of Diamonds State Park averages one to two diamond finds per day, but only about a dozen exceed one carat annually, according to assistant park superintendent Waymon Cox.
Beyond the Gem: A Symbol of Determination
Despite finding a rare stone, Fox has no plans to sell or even appraise it. She says the diamond’s true worth lies in what it represents — resilience, perseverance, and partnership.
“I was trying to find a physical object to embody the promise I want to make to my partner about who I’m going to be in a marriage,” Fox said. “A person who shows up, who works really long, hard, unglamorous, sweaty, smelly hours behind the scenes at problems that may not be solvable.”
The discovery has inspired many online, with social media users praising her for literally “digging up her commitment.”
“If you take giving up off the table, the only thing left is to keep moving,” Fox said.
A Rare Find with Deeper Meaning
For Fox, the diamond is more than an engagement ring centerpiece — it’s a reminder of what it means to commit to something difficult yet meaningful.
Her story has also reignited public interest in Crater of Diamonds State Park, one of Arkansas’s most popular attractions for amateur treasure hunters.
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