Fisherman kept 'world's largest pearl' under his bed for 10 years for good luck

The local fisherman reportedly had no clue about the worth of the pearl.
Fisherman kept 'world's largest pearl' under his bed for 10 years for good luck
Fisherman kept 'world's largest pearl' under his bed for 10 years for good luck
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A pearl, estimated to be the world's largest natural pearl, has been put on public display at the New Green City Hall in Puerto Princesa in the Philippines. The pearl is speculated to be worth millions.

According to Aileen Amurao, a Philippine tourism officer, the pearl was first discovered in 2006 by a fisherman of the Palawan Island, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We now need help from gemologists to fully certify it," Amurao said.

The pearl is 67 cm long, 30.5 cm wide and weighs 34 kg. 

The previous record was held by the Pearl of Lao Tze, which weighed 6.4 kg and was worth $35 million. It was also retrieved near Palawan Island. 

The local fisherman, who found the pearl, reportedly kept it under his bed for ten years as a good-luck charm and he had no clue about the worth of the pearl. 

"The man found the 34-kilogramme pearl inside a giant clam that was snagged by his anchor as he waited out a storm at sea, according to tourism department chief Cynthia Amurao, who is also his aunt," AP reported. 

After a fire at his house, which forced him to shift, he took the pearl to his aunt who suggested him to put it on public display. 

However, not all believe in the theory that the pearl is worth millions. 

Robert James, president of the International School of Gemology told Inverse that the $100 million worth attached to the pearl is “basically sensationalized nonsense”. 

He explained that the pearl is not of gem-quality and is “a mass of calcium carbonate, which basically just means it’s a big pile of clam snot.”

“The $100 million is a great story, a great tourist attraction, but there’s no way someone could actually attach a price tag to that. It’s more of an oddity than a rarity. The Hope Diamond is a rarity; it has a value that goes along with it. [This recent find] doesn’t have that kind of value,” he said.

But he added that the pearl “could have started growing in this clam when the Titanic sank for all we know.”

With agency inputs

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