Nature
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A Filipino fisherman has hidden a giant pearl, which is potentially worth millions of dollars, under his bed for a decade.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Weighing a whopping 34 kilograms (75 pounds), the pearl could be a record holder for the largest natural pearl ever discovered, according to Filipino officers. The pearl has been publicly shown this week for the first time, with images spreading across social media. However, it still needs an official weigh-in and authentication before any record-holding claims are substantiated.
It’s believed the pearl was discovered around the waters of Palawan, Philippines, inside a giant clam. This threatened species of mollusc is native to the warm waters of the South Pacific and Indian Oceans and can often grow to 1.2 meters (4 feet) in length.
Perhaps craziest of all, the pearl had been kept under the fisherman’s bed as a lucky charm since he found it 10 years ago. The anonymous man was reportedly not aware of its wider significance or worth until it was passed on to a tourism officer on the island of Palawan, Gizmodo Spain reports.
The Palawan Islands are well-known for their huge pearls. The current record holder, the Pearl of Lao Tzu, was also found in Palawan waters. This one weighs just over 6.3 kilograms (14 pounds) and is estimated to cost upwards of $3.5 million. The value of this new pearl is anybody’s guess, but it’s expected to be even higher.
