Struggling Thai Fisherman Finds Rare Melo Pearl Worth $320,000 While Walking on Beach

If you are still looking for a romantic Valentine’s Day gift for your partner, how about a super rare Melo pearl? At $ 332,762, this particular one isn’t exactly cheap, but it comes with quite a bit of backstory.

Last month, fisherman Hatchai Niyomdecha was collecting oyster shells with his family when they came across three beautiful shells that were sticking to a buoy.

The 37-year-old man and his brother removed the projectiles from the ball and took them home. They gave them to their father Angmad and then asked him for some help with cleaning. When the pensioner opened the third shell, he found something shiny: an orange pearl a little bigger than a quarter.

He called his wife and two children to inspect the precious 7.68 gram item. It turned out that the fishing family was holding in their hands an extremely expensive pearl from a large snail, the Melo Melo.

Hatchai, who saw the shells, says he had a strange dream a few days before finding the gem: “An old man dressed in white with a long mustache told me to go to the beach to receive a gift. I think it led me to find the pearl.

He believes that the old man could be a deity who wanted to help him out of poverty. as the pearl could be worth up to 10 million baht ($ 332,762), explaining: “I want to sell the pearl at the highest price. Money will not only change my life … My whole family will have a better life. “

A few days later, a wealthy businessman from another province found out about the pearl and offered to buy it for one million baht ($ 33,276), but the family refused.

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Another persistent collector of luxury items increased the offer to 5 million baht, but the family still turned it down, believing they could get a much higher price for it.

A third potential buyer, this time from China, is now negotiating with the family to buy the pearl for 10 million baht, its expected price, but hopes to see it for himself to determine that it is a genuine Melo.

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It is expected to fly to Thailand next week, but will have to undergo the required two-week quarantine and other guidelines before reaching the pearl owner’s home.

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Melo pearls range from orange to tan to brown, with orange being the most expensive shade. They are generally found in the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea off the coast of Burma and are produced by predatory sea snails called Volutidae. If you want to get your hands on this? It seems that now is your chance.

Featured Image: SWNS

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