Pearl discovered in policeman’s seafood soup sells for $16,500
A Boston policeman’s recent discovery of a Quahog pearl in his bowl of soup resulted in the sale of the uncommon saltwater find for $16,500 at auction.
Kaminski Auctions reported the sale of a rare natural single lavender pearl recently. The story of the
rare single lavender quahog pearl found by a local police officer in his seafood soup was featured by many local and national media outlets including The Boston Herald, The London Daily Mail, National Geographic.com, World News Tonight, Good Morning America, People Magazine, CBS television and ABC.com.
The 6-plus carat pearl is a rare non-nacreous pearl from the Mercenaria Mercenaria mollusk. The occurrence of a gem quality stone in a quahog is estimated to be only one in 2 million. Quahog pearls are mostly found by accident during home processing or consumption.
The pearl was accompanied with a GIA pearl certificate and described in the report as a “Natural undrilled Quahog saltwater pearl, 11.43mm x 8.36mm, 6.22 carats, from a Northern Quahog clam with GIA report ‘no indications of treatment,’ ‘natural light purple,’ Quahog pearls are one of the most precious in the world, being the only saltwater purple pearl of any significant size, Quahog pearls are non-nacreous having a hard, smooth, lustrous finish.”
The pearl was appraised conservatively by Kaminski Auctions’ senior appraiser Harry Morgan at $12,000 to $15,000. It sold for $16,500, including buyer’s premium, and ultimately ended up with a Japanese collector through a U.S. pearl broker.
