A Filipino-Canadian based in Ontario, Canada owns this giant pearl that weighs at 27.65 kg, which is believed to be more than 1,000 years old.
34-year-old Abraham Reyes has this rather strange, large tooth-shaped white object that looks like a smooth white rock. The family was surprised when he brought this to an appraiser, and the latter confirmed that it was actually a valuable pearl.
He had the family heirloom appraised and authenticated at the Gemological Institute of America in New York City, where they were told that that the true value of the white ‘rock’ – is a whopping $90 million (approximately Php4.73 billion).
According to Abraham, the pearl has been passed on from one generation to another. His grandfather bought the giant clam in 1959 from a fisherman in Palawan, Philippines, and gives it to his aunt as a gift.
But because of its strange shape and appearance, people couldn’t easily tell that it was actually a pearl as most people think that pearls are small and only come in a spherical shape.
The pearl weighs 27.65 kg, which is four times the weight of the Lao-Tzu Pearl, which was also found in Palawan in 1936.
The famous Pearl of Lao Tzu or also known as the Pearl of Allah that held the record as the largest pearl in the world since 1939 weighs at 6.4 kg.
In 2016, the record was shattered by the 34-kg Pearl of Puerto Princesa, which came from a giant pearl that a fisherman found stuck in his boat’s anchor in Palawan.
The fisherman took the giant pearl home and placed it under his bed for good luck, but he had forgotten about the object as time passed. After 10 years, the fisherman had to move to another residence and remembered the treasure under his bed. He was surprised when he shows it to his aunt who happens to be the local tourism department chief. He then learned that he’d been hiding a valuable pearl worth $100 million under his bed for many years.
The pearl owned by Abraham his family is a bit smaller than the Pearl of Puerto Princesa, but the pearl still has an impressive size and weighs just a few kilograms lighter than the world’s largest pearl.
Abraham dubbed this family treasure as “Giga Pearl” and he also commissioned a custom-made 22-carat gold holder in the shape of an octopus for the pearl.
source: townandcountry