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Love Stories

New York woman discovers rare 2.3-carat diamond, intends to use it for future engagement ring

After three weeks of digging through the dirt, Micherre Fox proved life’s most meaningful treasures are worth the effort to find them.

31-year-old Micherre Fox with her prized diamond

In a world where love seems to be weighed in carats and measured by a suitor’s purchasing power, Micherre Fox boldly chose a different path. When she and her partner began discussing marriage two years ago, the New Yorker quickly realized that her engagement—and the ring that comes with it—didn’t have to follow some predetermined social norm. It could mean something.

From then on, Fox was determined to make her engagement ring a unique reflection of her beliefs about marriage: determination, perseverance, and the ability to overcome challenges.

That meant store-bought diamonds were off the counter. Fox would have to find one herself.

woman, diamond, park, carats, engagement Could you have spotted Fox's diamond?Credit: Crater of Diamonds State Park

“There’s something symbolic about solving problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage,” she explains. “You need to be willing and able to address those issues with hard work.”

Despite the skepticism from her social circle, Fox and her partner decided to postpone their engagement for a month. This was not a delay, but an opportunity for Fox to symbolically commit to the hard work and dedication that she believes a successful marriage requires.

So, after graduating with a master’s degree in management from Fordham University, the 31-year-old packed her bags and flew halfway across the country to Arkansas, where a month-long treasure hunt awaited her at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Yes, you read that right. Fox went diamond hunting.

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The only place in the world

Although Fox was “willing to go anywhere in the world” to turn her D.I.Y. diamond dream into a reality, her research led her to a surprising discovery: she wouldn’t need to jet set overseas, or even pull out her passport. Everything her heart desired could be found in a 37-acre field in Pike County, Arkansas.

Among the tall pines of Murfreesboro lies Crater of Diamonds State Park, the “only place in the world” where the public can search for and keep the diamonds they find. For just $15 a day, Fox was finally free to scour the volcanic crater’s eroded surface, which has been revealing rarities and artifacts since 1906.

crater, arkansas, diamonds, state park, volcanic Welcome to the "Crater."Credit: Amy, Flickr

Affectionately known as the “Crater” to locals, the park’s glimmering bounty comes from a one-million-year-old natural anomaly: an eroded volcanic formation, or volcanic pipe, that possessed the power to bring diamonds up to the earth’s surface, like bubbles in a Champagne flute. There are other sparkling treasures to be found, too.

21 days of dirt and despair

On July 8, 2025, Fox arrived at Crater of Diamonds State Park, ready to spend the next three weeks searching for her prized rock. The search was anything but glamorous. Unlike Indiana Jones tracking the Sankara stones in the Temple of Doom, Fox was stuck solo, systematically combing through the sticky, dark gray soil known to local farmers as “Black Gumbo.”

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Rainfall helped but also didn't, with showers washing away dirt and uncovering anything near the surface, while simultaneously introducing humus, or decomposed plant and animal matter, to the soil, making it even stickier and more challenging to work through. Park staff plowed the field regularly. And yet, Fox remained empty-handed, pushing through growing physical exhaustion and mounting disappointment.

“I was coming to terms with the fact I was likely leaving without a diamond,” she told The New York Times.

Although the park averages one to two diamonds a day, with visitors finding more than 600 diamonds annually, these are usually teeny gemstones. The average size of a diamond found here is about the size of a match head—definitely not the heft, symbolically and literally, that Fox was hoping to find.

But Fox had made a commitment—to herself, to her partner, and to the values she wanted their engagement to represent.

That magic moment

On July 29—her very last day at the park—Fox was walking along the West Drain area when something caught her eye. Could it be?

“Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn’t know for sure, but it was the most ‘diamond-y diamond’ I had seen,” Fox later recalled.


quarter, diamond, park, carats, engagement Micherre's raw diamond, with a quarter for context. Credit: Crater of Diamonds State Park

She hurried to the Diamond Discovery Center, where the staff confirmed her discovery. It was a white, or colorless, diamond, about the size of a human canine tooth. Fox, overwhelmed with joy, named it the “Fox-Ballou Diamond,” after their last names. It had a smooth, rounded shape and a beautiful metallic luster, precisely what every bride-to-be hopes for in an engagement ring.

Oh, and the Fox-Ballou Diamond weighs a whopping 2.3 carats. It’s the third-largest diamond found in the park this year.

A rock that truly rocks

Fox’s diamond now ranks among the Crater’s most significant finds, like this year’s reigning champion, Minnesota resident David DeCook, who found a 3.81-carat brown diamond in April after just one hour of searching, naming it “The Duke Diamond” after his dog.

But the value of the Fox-Ballou Diamond lies far beyond its size or market worth.

Natural diamond prices have declined significantly from their pandemic-era peaks, falling nearly 30% from their 2022 highs due to reduced demand from economic uncertainty, technological advances, and changing consumer attitudes towards laboratory-grown diamonds, particularly among younger generations who prioritize sustainability and ethical sourcing.

In an era of instant gratification and digital shortcuts, Fox’s three-week quest represents something increasingly rare: the willingness to work for something meaningful rather than simply purchasing it—all while maintaining your values. It can seem impossible for love to flourish in today’s wedding industrial complex. Still, as Fox proves, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and go to work, you can have your dream engagement ring without reinforcing the value of earth-mined stones (there are many ethical concerns regarding “blood diamonds” and environmental destruction associated with traditional mining operations).


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Modern love

The average price of a 2.3-carat diamond is currently $27,037, according to diamond price aggregate StoneAlgo. However, a diamond of that size can cost anywhere from $7,172–$66,766, depending on the diamond’s shape, color, clarity, and other factors.

That is, if Fox were looking to sell it. (She’s definitely not.)

When she returned home to New York, she proudly walked up to her boyfriend and presented him with a box containing the diamond, The New York Times reports.

His response?

“I’ll say this, I certainly have to find a way to live up to this now," he explains. "She’s dealt her cards and now it’s my turn to put together something impressive, and I’m really looking forward to that.”

Until then, we’ll hang onto Fox’s story as proof that when we’re willing to dig deep—literally and metaphorically—for the things that matter most, we often discover treasures far more valuable.

During NYC's Pride parade, Trudy Bermudez made a surprise proposal to her girlfriend.

It's not easy to steal the spotlight at New York City's Pride parade. After all, you're competing with an estimated 50,000 attendees, as well this year's featured guests, Lady Gaga and the "Queer Eye" cast.

But Trudy Bermudez and Tayreen Bonilla did just that.


Both are NYC firefighter medics and have been dating for about a year and a half. During the parade, Bermudez surprised Bonilla with a wedding proposal she'd been planning for months.

"I had absolutely no idea and apparently everybody else knew. I was completely oblivious to the whole thing," Bonilla said afterward.

The engagement was celebrated both in the moment and later, by the FDNY who noted the happy couple aren't just in love, they're heroes. They made news in 2017 after helping save the life of a man who had a heart attack during a Brooklyn car show.

Bermudez said that she decided to propose during the middle of the Pride route to share their love with everyone in attendance and those watching from afar. "We're proud of who we are, and we're very happy, and I wanted to share that with whoever enjoys happiness," she said.

Bonilla quickly said "yes" — and the photos are beautiful.

Photos of the proposal quickly made news and went viral across social media. And that shouldn't be too surprising. Just look at these two:

All photos by Kena Betancur/Getty Images.

Progress demands vigilance. But let's not forget that equality and love are winning.

The fight for equality continues. But Pride month is also a reminder of how far LGBTQ communities have come in recent years.

And if the reaction to Bermudez and Bonilla from people near and far is any indication, those advocating in the name of love will be victorious.

When Becky McCabe proposed to her girlfriend, Jessa Gillaspie, she had no idea that her response would be ... pretty darn remarkable.

It all went down at the Memphis Zoo, the location of the couple's first date. Bringing friends along to capture the moment, McCabe had arranged for one of her friends to capture the proposal on video. But, as she knelt down to propose, the response from her girlfriend wasn't what she expected.


Gillaspie laughed and turned to pull out her own engagement ring for McCabe. She'd planned to propose to the love of her life that day, too.

There were tears of joy. Lots of them.

Image via CBS News/Twitter.

Is that not the most heartwarming response to "Will you marry me?" ever?!

The world is in awe at the beautiful, adorable, downright loving proposal.  

The responses to the video show just how important representation is and that lifelong love for queer couple is possible.

The number of same-sex marriages has continued to rise throughout the U.S. since it was legalized in 2015, as have the positive responses to queer couples.

Still, that representation sometimes doesn't make its way into mainstream culture. The Trump administration continues to try and roll back LBGTQ rights, including protection for LGBTQ workers, and removing LGBTQ-friendly language from government documents. Wedding companies still cater to straight couples, queer individuals struggles to navigate their way through dating spaces, and same-sex couples often find few examples of themselves in television and in pop culture.

But, that's slowly changing, and it's extremely important that queer young people know that love is possible.

Love is often the thing that moves us forward. If these lovebirds are any indication, our world is doing just that.

More

A woman responds to silly people asking her when she's going to upgrade her wedding ring.

Some folks questioned the size of her wedding ring. She had a lovely response.

It's easy to see why people get excited about diamond rings.

They're shiny, they're beautiful, and they're stunning visual proof of a moment of intense happiness for many couples. 

"You're engaged?! Let's see the ring!"


"Post it to Facebook immediately!" Photo via iStock

But there's an ugly side to engagement and wedding rings, too. And that's the idea that the carat count ought to reflect a couple's status in life, the size of their love, or the strength of their commitment.

According to data from 2012 from the Jewelers of America, Americans spend an average of around $4,000 on engagement rings. Wedding website The Knot pegged the number somewhere closer to $6,000 in 2014.

If our obsession with fancy diamond rings is indeed rising, it's probably not because we're learning to love each other more. 

We're just feeling more pressure than ever to keep up.

Rachel Pederson was getting a lot of comments from friends and family about the size of her ring. Eventually, she had enough.

Rachel is a marketer and social media personality, so she had the perfect platform to say what was on her mind.

It didn't take long for her response to go viral.

Here's the full text:

"Yes, I know that my wedding ring is small.


Friends and family often ask me when I'm going to have it 'upgraded'.... After all, it doesn't represent the level of success we are achieving.


I've even had one person say 'you could wear a bigger ring for important events, so people don't think you're not successful.'


Wait a minute.... Since when did the size of someone's ring become an indication of success?!


For me, the ring is SO much more.


My ring symbolizes a whirlwind, storybook, 'make you sick' love story.... It reminds me of how my husband and I met and fell at in love in one night at a Perkin's diner.


He worked as a window washer, and I was a single mother.


One short week later, and we professed our love to one another, him leading the conversation.


We couldn't stop dreaming of our future, so excited to have a baby, buy a house, and fall asleep together every night.


We couldn't wait for the future. So we didn't.


13 days after meeting, we eloped. I didn't even THINK about a ring until my husband surprised me before the ceremony. He drained his savings to gift me with a small token of his love.


I say small, only because it pales in comparison with how big his love is, even now, after years of marriage.


That, my friends, is success to me."













Bam! Thanks, Rachel, for the excellent reminder.

No one wins when we play the ring-size game. Ring buyers feel the stress of breaking the bank while ring wearers might feel pressure to eventually "upgrade" their ring if it's small or to explain away discrepancies between the sizes of their diamond and their bank account.

And, hey, some people really want to express their love with a big ol' diamond. That's fine too.

Let's just not forget what great marriages are really made of: love, passion, and a lot of hard work.

Next to those, even the brightest diamonds in the world pale in comparison.