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."
Clams got legs!
Sounds like sour grapes to me.
A pear-eating clam. That's extremely rare. Probably go good with a chardonnay.
peachy
New Christmas song?
A pear in a clam tree?
There has to be a "Family Guy" episode in which Peter finds a rare clam inside a pear.
It a pears that the headline is misspelled. The editor needs to clam-p down on the proofreader.
LOL!
If they did find a pear in clam it belongs in "Ripleys Believe it or Not" Museum!
"Stuning!"
Stunning, too!
Did you see my car keys?
That was the same headline I saw earlier, today, too- I was very curious as to how a pear would grow in a clam.
It's the Harry & David clam!
I haucked up a clam once with what looked like a purple something in it.
A purple pear? I wouldn't clam up over that find!
How would a pear fit in a clam?
Clam? I thought it was a hog.
ROTF! Ya got serious stones My Man. Suprised nobody jumped on your post.
Merry Christmas and thanks for the laugh.
ROTFLMAO!
Just a footnote:
Until the 1930s, there was a thriving clam digging industry on the upper Mississippi. My wife was given a ring by her Great Aunt containing two "river pearls". One is pink and the other is a beautiful light blue. While scarce, these fresh water pearls were not ultra unusual.
Since these mollusks are no longer harvested, the pearls have become rare finds.
Wow. Learned something there. I didn't even know about 'river pearls'. TY.
No, but there were a lot of mismatched socks in there. And a bunch of right foot shoes.
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