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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