Fisherman reportedly kept $100 million pearl under his bed for 10 years
The 75-pound natural pearl is now on display in the Philippines, waiting to be authenticated. It kind of looks like a shiny wad of gum.
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What's under your bed? A few dust bunnies, maybe a sock, a rumpled Kleenex? How about a pearl that weighs 75 pounds (34 kg) and may be worth $100 million (£75 million, AU$131 million)?
That's what a Filipino fisherman kept under his bed for a decade, reported The Guardian on Tuesday, citing local Palawan News. The unidentified man reportedly kept the giant object beneath his bed as a good-luck charm, touching it before he would go out fishing. But recently, he turned it over to his aunt, Aileen Cynthia Maggay-Amurao, who put the giant gem on display at the Puerto Princesa City Tourism office where she works. She's now asking for gemologists to help test the pearl's authenticity.
The man said his boat's anchor caught on a giant clam 10 years ago, and he had to swim down to dislodge it, finding the pearl. If testing proves it is a natural pearl, it could be worth $100 million. As much as it looks like an enormous shiny wad of chewed gum, there's precedent for record-breaking gems being found in the waters off Palawan, an island province.
"All recorded giant pearls in the world came from Palawan waters," said Maggay-Amurao. The current world-record holder was found in the area in 2014, and weighs 54 pounds (24.7 kg.).