A fisherman in the island province of Palawan in the Philippines has been keeping a humongous secret: the world’s largest pearl has been under his bed for the past ten years.
The pearl, which weighs 75 pounds is estimated to be worth a whopping $100 million.
The luck fisherman, who remains unidentified, reportedly found the pearl in the sea off Palawan, the New York Post reports. Unaware of the gem’s value, the man kept it hidden under his bed as a good-luck charm. A fire in his home forced him to move out, and the superstitious man decided to turn the pearl over to tourism officials in the remote city of Puerto Princesa, according to local authorities.
Tourism officer Aileen Cynthia Amurao relates the fisherman’s story.
[He] threw the anchor down and it got stuck on a rock during a storm. He noticed that it was lodged on a shell and swam down to pull up the anchor, and also brought the shell with him.
Surprised tourism workers measured the pearl and found it to be 2.2 feet long and one foot wide, much larger than the current world-record holder — the 14-pound Pearl of Allah or Pearl of Lao-Tse also found off Palawan in 1934 and worth $35 million. The province is known for its resource-rich waters, both for fresh and deep-sea pearls.
Amurao says they were “amazed” when the fisherman hefted the pearl in to their office. “We now need help from gemologists to fully certify it. But we believe Puerto Princesa is likely to earn another prestigious title and a record breaker for having the world’s biggest natural giant pearl from a giant clam,” she says.
The Pearl of Allah has been displayed at the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in Times Square. But this one will likely remain in the Philippines as tourist authorities hope to use it to increase tourist traffic in the area.
Giant clams, which produce rare seawater pearls, can grow up to four feet in length. They are usually found in the South Pacific or the Indian Ocean. Pearls of this size are not cut down to size to make jewelry, as they lose their luster when broken.
