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R.I. Couple Finds Rare Pear in Clam
Yahoo! News / AP ^ | 12/23/2005 | Not stated

Posted on 12/23/2005 11:04:34 AM PST by Rio

R.I. Couple Finds Rare Pear in Clam

Fri Dec 23, 9:06 AM ET

A clam that a Portsmouth couple thought was rotten turned out to hold a rare gem: a purple pearl that could be worth lots of money.

It happened earlier this month when Barbara Krensavage brought home about four dozen quahogs from a Newport seafood restaurant. Her husband, Thaddeus or "Ted," was shucking them when he came across one he thought was diseased. Upon closer inspection, the couple found the pearl.

"We're finding out there's only a handful on earth," Barbara Krensavage said. "We were excited, biting it and everything."

Some experts estimate that only 1 in 100,000 quahog clams contains a pearl, and 1 in 20 of those pearls is of gem quality. That puts the odds on the Krensavages' find at 1 in 2 million, according to The Providence Journal.

Antoinette Matlins, author of "The Pearl Book: the Definitive Buying Guide," said the Krensavages' pearl, perfectly round and about the size of a large pea, might be valued in the thousands of dollars, though she hasn't seen it. But that estimate could rise depending on the value of two purple quahog pearls featured in a $14 brooch bought five years ago by the partner of Newport antique dealer Alan Golash.

The brooch is included in the American Museum of Natural History's international pearl exhibit, now in Japan. The exhibition will move to Australia for much of 2006, and then to the Persian Gulf and London in 2007.

"You might sell something now for $20,000 or $25,000, which seems like a huge amount for a single pearl," Matlins said, "but then somebody might turn around and bid $1 million for the Alan Golash pearl. Then, the person who sold it for $20,000 or $25,000 would be kicking themselves."

The couple have set the gem in a gold ring — at least for now.

"If it's worth $10,000, we'll probably keep it, it'll be a family treasure," Ted Krensavage said. "But if it's worth more than a quarter million, we might put it up for auction."


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: copyandpaste; headlinetypo; pearl
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Now that would be pretty rare!

(In case they get around to editing their page, I promise that it says "pear" as I am writing this.)

1 posted on 12/23/2005 11:04:35 AM PST by Rio
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To: Rio

Heck of a clam!


2 posted on 12/23/2005 11:05:16 AM PST by who knows what evil? (New England...the Sodom and Gomorrah of the 21st Century, and they're proud of it!)
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To: Rio

3 posted on 12/23/2005 11:05:43 AM PST by coloradan (Failing to protect the liberties of your enemies establishes precedents that will reach to yourself.)
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To: Rio

How would a pear fit in a clam?


4 posted on 12/23/2005 11:05:56 AM PST by Gay State Conservative
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To: Rio

A pear? A pear-shaped pearl? Or a pearl-shaped pear? Or a pear of clams?


5 posted on 12/23/2005 11:06:30 AM PST by manwiththehands ("Merry Christmas .... and Happy New Year ... you can take your seat now ...")
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To: Gay State Conservative

I found a banana in a clam once. And a head of lettuce.


6 posted on 12/23/2005 11:06:53 AM PST by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: Rio

I've heard of a partridge in a pear tree, but never a pear in a clam.


7 posted on 12/23/2005 11:07:19 AM PST by i_dont_chat (Bush lied, people dyed. Their fingers. [Stolen from Mark Steyn].)
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To: Rio

I've found small pearls in mussels from time to time. They're the size of that ball on a pin


8 posted on 12/23/2005 11:07:21 AM PST by Vision (“We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the duty of intelligent men")
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To: coloradan

It was purple, silly.


9 posted on 12/23/2005 11:07:41 AM PST by Juan Medén
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To: Rio

Someone needs to "pear" the deadwood from this story.


10 posted on 12/23/2005 11:07:45 AM PST by bill1952 ("All that we do is done with an eye towards something else.")
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To: Rio

A pear in a clam? Stuning!


11 posted on 12/23/2005 11:08:14 AM PST by DBrow
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To: Right Wing Assault

Yeah, and I can't believe that you fell for it!


12 posted on 12/23/2005 11:08:24 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker (Merry Christmas to all our troops at home and abroad!!)
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To: Rio

I was in the Navy with Joe Catudal from North Attleboro, Mass. Joe mentioned going quahog hunting once, and I got the image of some fury critter. After all these years, it's hard to accept something with that name as a clam. Live and learn.


13 posted on 12/23/2005 11:08:36 AM PST by gcruse
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To: Rio

I thought this was about different...type of clam...and...the...pearl...nevermind...


14 posted on 12/23/2005 11:10:23 AM PST by Snardius (Some women want to walk hand in hand through the park; sing them a song; bite them on the spine...)
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To: Rio

Amazing.

15 posted on 12/23/2005 11:10:53 AM PST by Cinnamon Girl (OMGIIHIHOIIC ping list)
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To: coloradan

So hard to distinguish the tree raised pears from the clam raised ones.


16 posted on 12/23/2005 11:10:57 AM PST by Blood of Tyrants (G-d is not a Republican. But Satan is definitely a Democrat.)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

Here I am looking for avocados, apples, oranges, grapes, tomatoes, and cabbage.

17 posted on 12/23/2005 11:12:05 AM PST by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: Rio
R.I. Couple Finds Rare Pear in Clam

Now you've done it! More FReeper lore in the making....

18 posted on 12/23/2005 11:12:12 AM PST by The_Victor (If all I want is a warm feeling, I should just wet my pants.)
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To: Juan Medén

19 posted on 12/23/2005 11:14:04 AM PST by magslinger (At the end of the day the only truly educated people are autodidacts.)
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To: The_Victor

That's the real title on Yahoo. Click on the link to see for yourself.


20 posted on 12/23/2005 11:14:27 AM PST by savedbygrace (SECURE THE BORDERS FIRST (I'M YELLING ON PURPOSE))
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