A fisherman native to the Philippines has reportedly been hiding a massive 75-pound pearl under his bed for last decade. In terms of size, it’s approximately 2 feet long by 1 foot wide.
Image Credit: Aileen Cynthia Amurao/SWNS.com
The fisherman is said to have discovered this gem inside of a giant clam while fishing, and he kept it under his bed for good fortune.
It wasn’t revealed by the fisherman himself, but rather by the person he lent it to: Aileen Cynthia Maggay-Amurao. She was said to have obtained the pearl for “safekeeping” after the fisherman moved from the location where he was storing it because it was too heavy to take with him.
If legitimate, this would be the world’s largest pearl on record to date. The second-largest pearl was “The Pearl of Lao Tzu,” which weighs 14 pounds and was valued at $93 million in 2003 according to the The Guardian.
A mere fraction of what this 75-pound pearl weighs, you can imagine that Maggay-Amurao can’t wait to get this beastly freak of nature appraised. In the meantime, the pearl is currently on display to the public at the city hall of Puerto Princesa and has been given the name "The Pearl of Puerto."
Because the pearl still technically belongs to the fisherman, according to the Puerto Princesa government, he might be in for surprise once the appraisal is complete. He may have something in his possession that’s worth millions of dollars and may not have even known it.
Although the backstory behind how the pearl came to be discovered sounds far-fetched, one thing's for sure: we're definitely looking at the world's largest pearl here. It should be interesting to find out what it gets appraised for.
Source: The Guardian via NPR, Wikipedia