Giant Pearl
Now on display at the New Green City Hall of Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan Province, the pearl needs authentication by experts. Puerto Princesa Tourism Office/Aileen Cynthia Maggay-Amurao

Australia’s gold prospectors became excited with the discovery by a Victoria man of a 4-kilogramme gold nugget valued at $250,000. However, it pales in comparison to a 34-kilogramme giant pearl discovered and kept by a Filipino fisherman under his bed for 10 years as a good luck charm.

The Guardian’s initial estimate of the value of the pearl, measuring 30 centimetres wide and 67 centimetres long, is more than US$100 million (A$131 million). Now on display at the New Green City Hall of Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan Province, the pearl needs authentication by experts.

Aileen Cynthia Maggay-Amurao, tourism officer of the province and aunt of the Filipino fisherman who found the pearl, sought help from pearl experts or gemologists through a Facebook post, reports Time. She says based on research on the web, she could not find any recorded article about a pearl that large.

If authenticated, the pearl would beat the Pearl of Lao Tzu, weighing 6.4 kilogrammes, found also in Palawan in 1939. It was valued in 2003 by Colorado Springs gemologist Michael Steenrod at US$93 million (A$121.87 million).

Pearl of Lao Tzu
Pearl of Lao Tzu, weighing 6.4 kilogrammes, found also in Palawan in 1939. It was valued in 2003 by Colorado Springs gemologist Michael Steenrod at US$93 million (A$121.87 million). Facebook/JCM London

A giant clam caught on the anchor of the boat of Maggay-Amurao’s nephew. The Puerto Princesa man dove in the water to dislodge the clam where he found a giant pearl. However, he was not aware of its potential value and just hid it under his bed for 10 years as a good luck charm.

Every time he goes out to fish, the man touched the pearl first, Maggay-Amurao discloses. However, fire claimed his small wooden home in early 2016, so he entrusted the pearl to his aunt.

VIDEO: Fisherman Found a Giant Pearl Worth $100 Million and Kept It under His Bed for 10 Years

Source: New York Daily News