Most people wouldn’t spend three weeks in the Arkansas mud to save a few thousand bucks. Honestly, if you live in Manhattan, you're usually more accustomed to the "time is money" philosophy than the "time is a shovel" one. But Micherre Fox isn't exactly the type to take the easy route.
She decided to find her own engagement ring. Not buy it—find it.
The 31-year-old Manhattan resident recently made headlines across the country when she walked out of Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park with a 2.3-carat white diamond. It’s a story that sounds like a folk legend but happened right in the middle of a sweltering 2025 summer.
The Symbolism of the Shovel
Why do it? Seriously. New York is literally the diamond district capital of the world. You can walk down 47th Street and see more carats in five minutes than most people see in a lifetime.
For Micherre Fox, the motivation was kinda profound. She’d just finished a master’s degree in management at Fordham University and was looking at the next chapter of her life with her partner, Trevor Ballou.
"There's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage," she told park officials. She basically wanted to prove to herself—and her relationship—that she could solve problems with grit.
It wasn't a whim. She spent two years researching. She trained. She bought a tent and a cot. She headed to Murfreesboro, Arkansas, on a mission that her friends and family initially thought was, well, a little bit ridiculous.
Three Weeks of Nothing
The reality of diamond hunting isn't exactly a montage from a movie. It’s hot. It’s dirty. At the Crater of Diamonds, you’re basically looking at a 37.5-acre plowed field that used to be the surface of a volcanic crater.
Fox spent nearly her entire month-long break there.
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She woke up before dawn. She paid her $15 entry fee. She dug. She sifted. She rinsed. Day after day, she found nothing but wet quartz and mica.
Her equipment didn't even survive the trip. Her hand shovel was stolen about a week in, leaving her to dig with her bare hands until her fingernails were worn down to the quick. Then, the soles of her hiking boots started flapping like old paint peeling off a wall. She was literally walking through the mud with her socks peeking out.
Most people would have quit by day four. By day twenty, you’re basically just playing in the dirt for no reason.
The "Spiderweb" in the Dirt
July 29, 2025, was her last day. She was coming to terms with the fact that she was going home empty-handed. She’d even pivoted her mindset, deciding to just look for some amethyst instead so the trip wasn't a total wash.
Around 11 a.m., she was walking along the West Drain of the search area. She saw something glinting.
At first, she thought it was just a dew-covered spiderweb. It’s a common trick of the light in the Arkansas sun. She nudged it with her boot. The shine didn't go away.
When she picked it up, she realized it was a stone about the size of a human canine tooth. It was rounded, smooth, and had that weird metallic luster that only raw diamonds have. Fox later admitted she didn't know for sure if it was real, but it was the "most diamond-y diamond" she had ever seen.
The Fox-Ballou Diamond
She ran to the Diamond Discovery Center. When the staff confirmed it was a 2.3-carat white diamond—the third-largest find of the year—she didn't just celebrate. She crumbled.
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She fell to her knees, crying and laughing at the same time.
The stone was named the Fox-Ballou Diamond, following the park tradition where finders name their gems. According to gemologists like Laura Stanley in Little Rock, Arkansas diamonds often have a specific "patina" sheen because of their journey through volcanic pipes.
For a sense of scale, of the 366 diamonds found at the park in 2025, only 11 weighed more than a carat. Finding a 2.3-carat stone is like winning a localized lottery where the tickets are made of manual labor.
Bringing it Back to the West Village
The next day, she flew back to New York. She carried the diamond in a small box, tucked inside a fanny pack strapped across her chest.
When she got back to her apartment in Manhattan, Trevor was waiting with French fries from Bubby’s.
"I hunted this for you," she told him.
The story has since become a bit of a touchstone for people looking for more "meaning" in their consumer goods. In an era of lab-grown gems and mass-produced luxury, the idea of a woman from the West Village digging her own engagement ring out of the earth with her bare hands is... different. It’s authentic.
Is This Real Life or a PR Stunt?
Because Micherre Fox has a background in creative events—she’s been involved with "Invitation Only Creative" and projects that focus on "emergent events"—some skeptics might wonder if this was all for show.
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But the Arkansas State Park officials are pretty strict about these things. They don't plant stones. The dirt is real, the blisters were real, and the "Fox-Ballou Diamond" is now a registered piece of geological history.
It’s also worth noting that Micherre is a self-described "renaissance woman." Whether it’s starting a business or digging for gems, she seems to have a "just do it" mentality that is increasingly rare.
How to Follow in Her Footsteps
If you’re reading this and thinking about hopping a flight from LGA to Little Rock, there are some things you should know.
First, the odds are against you. Most people find nothing. Second, the heat is brutal. If you aren't prepared to camp and get your hands literally bloody, don't bother.
But if you want to try:
- Go after rain. The water washes away the top layer of soil, making diamonds "surface-pop."
- Focus on the drains. Areas like the West Drain (where Micherre found hers) act as natural traps for heavier stones.
- Look for the luster. Diamonds don't look like glass; they have an oily, metallic sheen that stands out once you know what to look for.
- Vary your methods. Some people surface-search (just walking and looking), while others "dry-sift" or "wet-sift." Micherre found hers just by being in the right place at the right time after weeks of hard work.
The Fox-Ballou Diamond is currently being prepared to be set into a ring. It won't be a "perfect" stone by Tiffany & Co. standards—it will likely have some of those natural blemishes and the rounded shape characteristic of Crater stones.
But for Micherre Fox, those "flaws" are the point. They represent the work.
Actionable Insights for Aspiring Gem Hunters
If you're planning a trip to Crater of Diamonds, invest in high-quality screens and a "saruca" (a circular sieve used for wet sifting). Don't just rely on a shovel; the best finds often come from processing large amounts of gravel in the washing pavilions. Most importantly, follow Micherre’s lead: set a deadline, commit to the "calls to the wild," and don't be afraid to keep digging even when the soles of your boots fall off.