Poor Philippine fisherman finds ‘world’s largest’ pearl, hides it under his bed as good-luck charm for a decade

A poor Philippine fisherman found what is thought to be the world’s largest pearl, but hid it under his bed for a decade without knowing its worth, local authorities said.

The man found the 34kg pearl inside a giant clam that was snagged by his anchor as he waited out a storm at sea, according to local tourism department chief Cynthia Amurao, who is also his aunt.

Not knowing it could be worth tens of millions of dollars, he kept the 30cm by 60cm pearl in his thatch hut on the western island of Palawan, tucked under a wooden bed as a good-luck charm, Amurao added.

In July, the nephew moved to a new address and took the object to his aunt in a tricycle, asking her to hide it for him, said Amurao, the city tourism officer for Puerto Princesa, the provincial capital.

“I was awestruck when I saw it just sitting on the dinner table,” Amurao said.

He described the fisherman as a member of the tiny Cuyonon ethno-linguistic group who live in a few small islands off Palawan, the biggest island in the southwest of the Philippines surrounded by the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea.