Rare pearl found in restaurant clam

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A Royal Palm Beach, Fla., couple discovered a rare purple pearl in a clam purchased at a restaurant.

George Brock said he tasted the pearl while eating his way through a dozen steamers at Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar and spit the tiny object out, the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported Monday.

"The funny part of it is he hardly ever orders clams," his wife, Leslie, said Sunday.

Vermont gemologist Antoinette Matlins said the value on the pearl rests largely with the eventual auction of a pearl brooch at the American Museum of Natural History. She said the sale is expected to set the price range of purple pearls on the international market.

She said of the Brocks' pearl that "few are round and few are a lovely color, so this is rare. I think they have found something precious and lovely and valuable."

The Brocks plan to sell the item, "unless it's not worth that much," Leslie Brock said. "Then we'll probably put it on a pendant."