There are family heirlooms. And then their are family HEIRLOOMS. Ask mineral broker Abraham Reyes. (Paul Borkwood/CBC)

An extraordinary giant pearl emerges from a Toronto suburb

The biggest pearl anyone has ever seen is currently sitting in Mississauga, Ontario.

Soon, it may be coming to a museum or art gallery near you.

It’s quite a piece of work: white and cream coloured, weighs 27.66 kilos, looks like a huge tooth and is about the size of a baby.

And get this: appraisers say it could be worth from 60 million to 90 million dollars.

At least that’s what they recently told Abraham Reyes, who had been keeping the pearl in a safety deposit box since his aunt shared the family heirloom with him several years ago.

“Nobody really looked at it…it doesn’t look like a pearl,” Reyes told the CBC’s Dayna Gourley.

The pearl arrived in Canada back in 1959 when Reyes’ grandfather brought it with him on a family trip to Toronto from Manilla.

The Giga Pearl, seen here during an exclusive viewing for CBC Toronto, could be the world’s largest natural pearl. Owner Abraham Reyes commissioned a special golden octopus, designed by artist Bethany Krull, to hold the ultra-rare gem. (Paul Borkwood/CBC)

It sat inside a giant clam that came from a fisherman in Camiguin, a small island southeast of Manila, that is surrounded by volcanoes and deep water.

Reyes’ grandfather gave the clam to Reyes’ aunt as a gift, or pasalubong, a Filipino custom.

“To me I feel very honoured to have it,” Reyes, who believes the pearl may have scientific importance, told the CBC’s Dayna Gourley

I feel a great responsibility.”

What about cashing in on the find?

“It’s priceless to me,” he told Gourley.

“I want to find a place for it to be showcased.

“I believe the world should know it does exist.

It’s believed the pearl is a thousand years old.

Reyes is 34..

With files from D Gourney-CBC, CTV

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