--- title: Philippines: This Could Be the Word's Biggest Pearl description: If confirmed to be authentic, a giant pearl kept hidden for a decade in the Philippines, could have a value of more than $100 million canonical: https://time.com/4464020/philippines-pearl-palawan-fisherman/ author: Amanda Calvo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-24T09:16:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:35:47.129Z og:title: This Could Be the Largest Pearl Ever Found og:description: If confirmed to be authentic, it could have a value of more than $100 million og:url: https://time.com/4464020/philippines-pearl-palawan-fisherman/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta976880781f31626/6988a36ee20a87c80fa92216/h_52982056.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A pearl of 34 kilogram awaiting certification as the biggest in the world og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Could Be the Largest Pearl Ever Found twitter:description: If confirmed to be authentic, it could have a value of more than $100 million twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta976880781f31626/6988a36ee20a87c80fa92216/h_52982056.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Giant Pearl Kept Under a Fisherman's Bed for Ten Years Could Be the World's Largest by [Amanda Calvo](https://time.com/author/amanda-calvo/) ## Amanda Calvo Aug 24, 2016 9:16 AM UTC  Handout photo provided by the Puerto Princesa Tourism Office released on Aug. 23, 2016 shows a pearl that is awaiting to be certified as the biggest in the world, in Puerto Princesa, Palawan island, Philippines. Handout photo provided by the Puerto Princesa Tourism Office released on Aug. 23, 2016 shows a pearl that is awaiting to be certified as the biggest in the world, in Puerto Princesa, Palawan island, Philippines.Puerto Princesa Tourism Office/EPA by [Amanda Calvo](https://time.com/author/amanda-calvo/) ## Amanda Calvo Aug 24, 2016 9:16 AM UTC What may be the world’s largest natural pearl was given to authorities last week after serving as a Filipino fisherman’s good luck charm for [more than a decade](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/fisherman-hands-in-giant-pearl-he-tossed-under-the-bed-10-years-ago). The giant pearl measures in at 1 ft. wide, 2.2 ft. long and weighs 75 lb. If confirmed to be authentic, it could have a value of more than $100 million, according to the _Guardian_. The pearl was [discovered](http://palawan-news.com/potentially-worlds-biggest-natural-pearl-turned-puerto-princesa-city-tourism-office/) off Palawan Island in the Philippines after the fisherman’s anchor became lodged on a giant clam. Unaware of its potential worth, the pearl remained tucked away under his bed for good luck. Ten years later the man’s aunt, a local tourism officer, entrusted it to the city’s mayor to serve as an attraction, and it is currently exhibited at New Green City Hall in Puerto Princesa. She is seeking gemologists to authenticate the enormous jewel. “So far based on our research in the web we cannot find any recorded article about this kind and as big as this size,” the aunt, Aileen Cynthia Maggay-Amurao said. If the pearl is authentic, it would be much larger than the current record holder, which was found in 1939, also in Palawan waters. \[[_Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/fisherman-hands-in-giant-pearl-he-tossed-under-the-bed-10-years-ago)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4464020/philippines-pearl-palawan-fisherman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4464020/philippines-pearl-palawan-fisherman/"},"headline":"Giant Pearl Kept Under a Fisherman's Bed for Ten Years Could Be the World's Largest","datePublished":"2016-08-24T09:16:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:35:47.129Z","description":"If confirmed to be authentic, it could have a value of more than $100 million","url":"https://time.com/4464020/philippines-pearl-palawan-fisherman/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Philippines"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta976880781f31626/6988a36ee20a87c80fa92216/h_52982056.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amanda Calvo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/amanda-calvo/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta976880781f31626/6988a36ee20a87c80fa92216/h_52982056.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A pearl of 34 kilogram awaiting certification as the biggest in the world","caption":"A pearl of 34 kilogram awaiting certification as the biggest in the world","creditText":"Puerto Princesa Tourism Office/EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4464020/philippines-pearl-palawan-fisherman/","name":"Giant Pearl Kept Under a Fisherman's Bed for Ten Years Could Be the World's Largest"}}]}] ```