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= Giga Pearl = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Giga Pearl is considered the largest pearl in the world. At 27.65 kilograms (60.96 pounds) with approximate dimensions of 39.37 cm L x 22.86 cm W x 20.95 cm D (15.50 in L x 9.00 in W x 8.25 in D). These dimensions have placed the Giga Pearl as the most significant natural blister pearl in the world.

The Giga Pearl was discovered by a fisherman and purchased by the great-grandfather of its current owner, in the mid 20th century during his time on Camiguin Island in the Philippines. Not knowing what it was, but admiring it regardless, it was kept in the family and was handed down to future generations.

The Giga Pearl was examined by the GIA in November of 2016, and included a 5-step test to determine whether the item was from the shell of the mollusc or if a secretion caused it. The GIA determined that it was a natural blister formed by a Tridacna gigas clam.

On May 14, 2017, the Giga Pearl was entered into the Guinness World Records as the largest natural non-nacreous pearl in the world.

History
The Giga Pearl was found on Camiguin Island, a province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) off the northern coast of Mindanao. It is geographically part of Region X, the Northern Mindanao Region of the country and formerly a part of Misamis Oriental province. The Giga Pearl was formed by a Tridacna gigas, which is the largest mollusc in the fossil record. These giant clams can grow to over 1 metre (3.28 feet) in size and can weigh over 300kg (661 pounds). They are found in the South Pacific, Indian oceans, the Philippines, and the South China Sea.

Pearls have cultural significance in the Philippines. In fact, the pearl was official decreed in as the national gem of the Philippines in 1996 by President Fidel Ramos.

Officially the world’s oldest gem, pearls have been revered since long before written history. For this reason, their discovery cannot be attributed to one person in particular, but it is believed that they were first discovered by people searching for food along the seashore. We know that they have been worn as a form of adornment for millennia thanks to a fragment of pearl jewellery found in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess that dates back to 420 BC, which is now on display at the Louvre in Paris.

Pearls were presented as gifts to Chinese royalty as early as 2300 BC, while in ancient Rome, pearl jewellery was considered the ultimate status symbol. So precious were the spherical gems that in the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar passed a law limiting the wearing of pearls only to the ruling classes.

The abundance of natural oyster beds in the Persian Gulf meant that pearls also carried great importance in Arab cultures, where legend stated that pearls were formed from dewdrops that were swallowed by oysters when they fell into the sea. Before the advent of cultured pearls, the Persian Gulf was at the centre of the pearl trade and it was a source of wealth in the region long before the discovery of oil.

With such a long and ancient history, it is no wonder that, over time, the pearl became shrouded in myth and legend. In ancient China, pearl jewellery was said to symbolise the purity of the wearer while, in the Dark Ages, knights often wore pearls on the battlefield, believing that the precious gemstones would keep them safe. According to legend, Cleopatra crushed a pearl into a glass of wine to prove to Marc Antony that she could give the most expensive dinner in history.

Pearls have been an important trade commodity since Roman times, and the discovery of pearls in Central and South America in the 15th and 16th century led to the so-called Pearl Age. With the escalating demand for pearls in Western Europe, where ladies of nobility and royalty wore elaborate pearl necklaces, earrings, pearl bracelets and brooches, by the 19th century, demand for pearl jewellery became so high that oyster supplies began to dwindle.

Unlike gemstones that are mined from the earth, a living organism produces a pearl and, in fact, their very existence is a freak of nature. A pearl is formed when an irritant, such as a parasite or piece of shell, becomes accidentally lodged in an oyster's soft inner body, causing it to secrete a crystalline substance called nacre, which builds up around the irritant in layers until a pearl is formed. Cultured pearls are formed through the same process, the only difference being that the irritant is implanted in the oyster rather than entering it by chance.

Until the start of the 20th century, the only way of collecting pearls was through divers risking their lives at depths of up to 100ft to retrieve the pearl oysters. It was a dangerous pursuit and one that carried limited chance of success as a ton of oysters would throw up only three or four quality pearls. Freshwater molluscs living in shallow rivers and streams were easier to gather, but these pearl beds were often reserved for harvesting by royalty.

Non-Nacreous Pearls
Traditionally, when one thinks of pearls, they think of a nacreous pearl with mirror-like lustre. Aragonite and conchiolin cause this lustre, which layer together to form a nacre. However, calcite creates another class of pearls. We classify these as non-nacreous pearls or calcareous concretions.

Non-nacreaous pearls are calcareous concretions and cannot be cultured, therefore making them rarer than their nacreous counterparts. This rarity leads to extremely high prices, sometimes even surpassing the most beautiful South Sea pearls. The most recognizable varieties of non-nacreous pearls are the conch and the Melo, which have been used by jewellery houses to create stunning works of art.

Value
Values reported by media vary from $60,000,000 to $200,000,000 USD.