Britt Jones
A fisherman has admitted to keeping a pearl under his bed for a decade, which could be the largest natural pearl ever found in history.
The man, from the Philippines found an enormous pearl 30cm wide and 67cm long and weighs an incredible 34kg.
If valuators confirm that it was actually formed inside of a giant clam, it could make this man rich overnight.
According to Palawan News, the fisherman from Puerto Princesa found it over 10 years ago while he was fishing in the sea.
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The local news outlet reported that he found it when his boat’s anchor caught on a giant clam, and he had to jump into the water to unstick the two.
However, when he found the pearl, he kept it as a good luck charm and stowed it under his bed.
It was when he moved to another part of the province that he gave his aunt the pearl.
Aileen Cynthia Maggay-Amurao works at the local government as a tourism officer, and he brought it over to her.
She told the Guardian: “That’s why he brought it to me, since it’s quite heavy.”
She explained that she’s now looking to experts to authenticate the pearl so it can be valued.
She said: “So far based on our research in the web we cannot find any recorded article about this kind and as big as this size.
“He said every time he goes out for fishing, he will touch the pearl.”
However, if it is confirmed to have come from a giant clam, it would likely be valued in excess of $100m, which would make the man a multi-millionaire overnight.
For the time being, the man’s aunt, with his permission, gave their mayor Lucilo R Bayon the pearl as a tourist attraction and now it is sitting in New Green City Hall in Puerto Princesa.
In her bid to search for answers about how valuable the pearl could be, Maggay-Amurao asked Facebook experts and wrote: “The Puerto Princesa City would likely earn another prestigious title and a record breaker for having the world’s biggest natural giant pearl from a giant clam (34 kilograms) after being certified for its authenticity.
“Need help from gemologists!
“Just for the info of everyone, all recorded giant pearls in the world came from Palawan waters.”
She wants all residents of the island and surrounding areas to help raise awareness of the pearl and seemed to have received an amazing response as the post was shared thousands of times.
If the pearl is found to be authentic, it’ll beat the world’s current biggest pearl, which was found by a local diver from Brooke’s Point in Palawan, dubbed the Pearl of Lao Tzu.
This one weighed 6.4kg when it was found in 1939.
If it’s real, it’s almost 30kg bigger.
In 2003, the record-holder was valued as $93m by Colorado Springs’ gemologist Michael Steenrod.