Pearl found in Oyster! Have Questions

[connieran]

Hello everyone. I found a pearl (I'm pretty sure it is a pearl .. looks like one) in an oyster in a seafood restaurant in New Orleans, LA. I need to know this:

1) HOW do I get it out? use knife and scrape? or ??
2) Approximately how much is it worth? are we talking $10, or more like $100? or ??? I have NO clue.
3) Where do I take it to try to sell.
4) Anything else I need to know??

Thanks. Picture attached.

 

[pattye]

Hi connieran,

Wow, lucky you! Likely no real value, sorry, but hopefully sentimental remembrance of a special occasion dinner! If you detach it from the shell, you will probably have a large blemish on the pearl. If you have children, it will make a great object for them to take for show and tell!

 

[connieran]

reply to your reply...

reply to your reply...

thanks for the reply. well, you said it probably has no value, ... how will i know for sure? like would it be worth $10 or so? or anything at all?? or basically NO money? My kids are all older, so no show and tell. I am not interested in keeping it.... unless of course, it has absolutely no value at all. If I can get a few dollars for it, I will sell it. Is it a REAL pearl?? i have absolutely no clue about this stuff.

 

[connieran]

oh, and also ... HOW do I get it out of the oyster without causing a problem to it?

 

[jshepherd]

Is it possible for you to take a larger photo of it, maybe with the macro setting of your digital? Just of the pearl or just of the shell showing the pearl would be fine.

 

[jshepherd]

It is very difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks like it might be a blister pearl - a pearl attached to the shell. These are removed by cutting the shell around the base of the pearl.

Pearls from edible oysters are possible, but even whole pearls (not attached to the shell) have little value for the most part. When attached, the value is even less. But pearls are a rare find, so it would certainly be a good keepsake.

 

[Caitlin]

Pearls from edible oysters are not the same as the ones from pearl oysters. A pearl like yours comes from a kind of oyster than does not have a mother of pearl shell. Pearls are made out of the same material as you see on the inside of the shell. In this case it is like porcelain more than mother of pearl, so it is not desirable on any market. But it makes a great little piece of clutter in your kitchen window!

Thank for posting this. We sometimes forget that most people don't know much about pearls. And this is a great first lesson.

BTW, if you eat quahog clams- is that the same as cherry stone clams? Anyway you might bite down on a little clam pearl once in a thousand clams. When you spit it out it could be purple and/or white. Thay aren't worth much unless they are really pretty and did not get cooked.

 

[Miriam Reed]

It's value is probably greater left in the shell and given to someone who collects natural odds and ends. As a pearl it won't be worth anything for the reasons Caitlin has explained. But someone will appreciate it simply because it's interesting.

 

[connieran]

Well, I wish I would have read the above post BEFORE I removed the pearl out of the shell!! I took a butter knife and got it out. The entire bottom of it is flat.... where it was attached to the oyster. The rest looks like a pearl with an uneven shape. Oh well, I guess I'll just keep it for a memento. Thank you for all the great advice on here!

 

[jerin]

That sounds definitely as if you have found yourself a blister pearl!

 

[pearlescence]

If the surface of the pearl is half decent you could probably find a local working jeweller to set it into a simple ring