The World’s Largest Pearl has been discovered in the Philippines and this thing weighs as much as a small child. Clocking in at around 34Kg or about 75 pounds, the huge gem was being used by a Filipino fisherman as a good luck charm under his bed.
The new world’s largest pearl is more than five times as big and heavy as the previous world record holder. Most pearls are found or cultured mostly in certain species species of bivalves, especially oysters.
But since the new world’s biggest pearl is much bigger than any oyster we’ve ever heard of, there’s only one bivalve that grows big enough to create such a huge gem. In case you didn’t know, giant Tridacna clams can also make pearls, but these are much more rare, and hence even more valuable.
From the size of the 75 pound pearl, it’s clear that it was produced by the world’s largest bivalve, Tridacna gigas. If you look closely at the picture of the world’s largest pearl you can clearly see the folds and grooves of the inside of a Gigas clam shell.
Interestingly, the previous record holder for world’s largest pearl was also discovered in this area of Palawan, Philippines, and likely also came from a giant clam. The fisherman who discovered this pearl and kept it for good luck definitely hit the jack pot because it is believed that a pearl of this size is worth upwards of $100 million dollars. [IBTimes]
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