Wis. Gold Miner Finds 1.22-Carat Diamond in Sediment From Well

Even though panning for "Wisconsin Gold," which the New Richmond News reports generally consists of flakes that don't amount to much, doesn't result in a large payload, that hasn't stopped Dan Fagnan from sifting. This time, it actually paid off though.

The St. Croix County man last week thought he had found a piece of glass, according to the newspaper, but it was really a 1.22-carat diamond.

Dan Fagnan holds his 1.22-carat diamond that will be fashioned into a necklace. (Image: New Richmond Herald)

Owner Karen Greaton tested the stone to see if it was a diamond. Sure enough, her test equipment indicated it was, but Greaton was skeptical.Fagnan was sifting through materials from a friend's newly drilled well when he found the stone. Taking it to a jeweler, it was confirmed as a diamond. But even the jeweler was second guessing herself as it was an unusual place to find such a precious stone:

She thought the stone could be moissanite, or silicon carbide. But even that test indicated it was a diamond.

“My dad told me it’s unlikely to find a diamond here, but diamonds can actually be found anywhere in the world,” Greaton said. Most often, diamonds are formed near volcanoes, where minerals and heat combine to create the hard substance.

The New Richmond News reports it is thought this one was brought down by a glacier during the Ice Age from near a Canadian volcano.

Greaton’s Designing Jewelers is putting the stone into a necklace for Fagnan's unborn child. The diamond will remain raw because the jewelers said cutting it appropriately would reduce its size by 60 percent.

Fagnan said he was previously thought to be a "fruit loop" for his gold digging endeavors.

(H/T: Yahoo! News)