The enormous pearl is 30cm wide (1ft), 67cm long (2.2ft) and weighs 34kg (75lb).
Advertisement
Pearls are usually found in oysters, but clams can produce a specific type, called nacreous pearls, which have high commercial value. If it turns out to be true, the world has a new largest pearl, by a mile. The fisherman was unaware of the prospective value, which the pearl holds and therefore retained it with him as a good luck charm. Puerto Princesa City information officer Richard Ligad said the fisherman who discovered the pearl could be in for an extraordinary windfall.
Thinking that it could be a possible tourist attraction, and with the permission from her nephew, Maggay-Amurao made a decision to present the giant pearl to Puerto Princesa mayor Lucilo R. Bayron.
“The fisherman threw the anchor down, and it got stuck on a rock during a storm”, said Amurao. The city government of Puerto Princesa, the capital of the Palawan province, also posted photos of it on its Facebook page. The fisherman will receive a still-unspecified reward from the local government, Amurao said, adding that he never meant to sell it. Now experts are trying to authenticate the massive gem which if real could be worth upwards of $100 million.
A huge pearl cherished as a good luck charm by a Filipino fisherman is likely the world’s largest ever discovered.
The Pearl of Allah, which was found by a local diver in 1939, weighs 6.4 kilograms (14.1 pounds), or less than one-fifth the weight of the fisherman’s find.
Philippine officials believe they may have recovered the biggest natural giant clam pearl in the world. The Guinness World Records notes a abalone pearl found in California measuring 5.51-inches by 3.14-inches by 1.57 inches is the current world record holder of its kind. “Need help from gemologists!” We’re waiting for authentication from Gemologist Institute and other worldwide authorities.
Advertisement
For the record, a 75-pound pearl would be 170,000 carats.
