'I Found a 2.2 Carat Diamond While Mining For My Engagement Ring Gem' Christian Liden On 6/27/21 at 4:10 AM EDT From a young age, I loved watching shows about guys who went and looked for gems in places like Iceland. And, I've always been a big rockhound—someone interested in rocks and stones—and gone out looking for fossils. Even though I didn't really date at all through middle school and high school, I knew someday I wanted to be married, and that I wanted to be different. I remember thinking: Why do I have to be like everyone else and buy an engagement ring? Why can't I go and find this stuff myself? I just wanted to be a little different.