Nature & Environment

Giant pearl could be worth over $100 million

By T.K. Randall
August 23, 2016 ·  14 comments

The pearl is absolutely enormous. Image Credit: Facebook / Aileen Cynthia Maggay-Amurao According to reports, the pearl was discovered ten years ago off Palawan Island in the Philippines by a local fisherman who got his anchor wedged on a clam shell after casting it during a storm.

Upon retrieving the shell from the sea floor he was amazed to find a huge pearl inside. Unaware of its value, he ended up keeping it underneath his bed as a good luck charm for the next decade.

It was only after his house was damaged in a fire that he finally took it to the local tourist office.

The pearl is five times larger than the previous record set by the Pearl of Lao Tze - a 6.4kg specimen also found off Palawan Island that is thought to be worth over $3.5 million.Officials are now awaiting confirmation from experts to see if the new pearl is genuine.

"We now need help from gemologists to fully certify it," said Tourism officer Aileen Cynthia Amurao. "We're waiting for authentication from Gemologist Institute and other international authorities."

"But we believe Puerto Princesca is likely to earn another prestigious title and a record breaker for having the world's biggest natural giant pearl from a giant clam."

"We will keep this here in the Philippines and I hope it will bring more tourists to the city."

Source: IB Times | Comments (14)

Tags: Pearl