Wisconsin man finds a diamond in the mire

A Wisconsin man has a found a 1.2 carat diamond while panning for gold in the refuse of a friend’s freshly drilled well.

Dan Fagnan of St. Croix County has been an amateur gold prospector for several years, whose passion for traditional panning is undiminished by the meager value of the tiny gold flakes its yields.

“Everyone thinks I’m a fruit loop for panning for gold,” says Fagnan to New Richmond News.

Fagnan’s odd hobby has just brought him a shock windfall, however, in the form of a 1.2 carat diamond he found while panning for gold in the detritus of a well recently drilled by a friend.

Fagnan was initially unsure of the nature of the small and irregular rock he had found, and took it to Greaton’s Designing Jewelers for professional advice.

Testing by mineral experts subsequently determined that the rock was a 1.2 carat diamond, which was most likely conveyed southwards by Canadian volcanic activity and left stranded in the American Mid-West after the Ice Age.

Jewelers have advised Fagnan to refrain from cutting the diamond as it would lead to a loss of around 60% of the stone. Fagnan has since decided to have Greaton’s Designing Jewelers embed the precious gem in a necklace for his soon-to-be-born child.