'Melo Pearls' Found Inside Clams Purchased at Seafood Market
"Considering Selling Pearls Due to Economic Burden"
A Thai woman struck lucky by discovering a 'Melo pearl' while eating clams she bought at a market. The pearl is highly valuable as a gemstone because it cannot be farmed.
On the 14th (local time), foreign media including the New York Post reported, citing Thai media The Tiger, that Ms. Wasana (53) from Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in southern Thailand found a white Melo pearl inside clams she purchased at a seafood market late last year. Wasana said, "On the 31st of last month, I bought 5 kg of clams at the seafood market," adding, "After bringing the clams home, I boiled them and was dipping them in sauce when I discovered a round white object inside one of the clams." She continued, "I was immediately certain it was a Melo pearl."
She kept the pearl and, when she traveled to Bangkok for business, visited the Bangkok National Gemstone Institute to have it examined. The appraisal revealed that the pearl was a 6.8-carat natural rare Melo pearl. The institute issued a certificate of authenticity for the Melo pearl. Wasana said, "I am very happy that it was confirmed genuine," and added, "Recently, financial burdens have increased significantly, and I had to spend a considerable amount of money. So, I am thinking of selling the pearl."
An orange pearl found inside a clam picked up by a fisherman on the beach in 2021. [Image source=Thai Rat]
Melo pearls are produced by the sea snail Melo melo, which mainly inhabits the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea, and come in various colors such as brown and yellowish brown. Since they cannot be farmed, they have high value as gemstones. In the past, a Melo pearl that appeared at a Christie's auction was reportedly sold for $250,000 (about 280 million KRW).
In February 2021, a fisherman living in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province found a 7.68g orange Melo pearl inside a clam he picked up at the beach. The appraisal valued it at a whopping 10 million baht (about 376 million KRW). At the time, the fisherman said, "At first, I didn't know it was a pearl, but after looking up the news, I realized its value," adding, "I want to sell it for the highest price. I hope my whole family can live a better life."
Meanwhile, in South Korea, a couple living in Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province, made headlines in 2022 after discovering a pearl measuring 1.3 cm in diameter while boiling oysters to eat.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
