Rare purple pearl found in Rehoboth Beach gets appraised
Scott Overland and his family found the gem at Salt Air restaurant in Rehoboth Beach in August.
PHOENIXVILLE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Remember the Phoenixville man who found a rare purple pearl in the clam appetizer he almost sent back at a Rehoboth Beach restaurant this summer?
Scott Overland brought that pearl to Jewelers' Row in Philadelphia Tuesday to find out just what it's worth.
"The value is $4,071," announced Joshua Hyman, the owner of Philadelphia Jewelry Appraisers.
"Wow, that's fantastic," Overland said. "Very exciting. Not bad for a bowl of clams!"
Scott Overland and his family found the gem at Salt Air restaurant in Rehoboth Beach in August.
Pearls are typically found in oysters, but the rare purple one can turn up in a clam if you don't slurp it down first.
Overland almost did just that. Good thing he caught it.
"The is the first one I have ever seen in my life," Hyman said. "I have never seen a purple clam pearl."
That purple pearl has had quite an adventure since August.
Overland first brought it home to Phoenixville, then to GIA: the Gemological Institute Of America in New York City.
SEE ALSO: Phoenixville man finds rare purple pearl in seafood appetizer he almost sent back
Now that he found out it's worth, the big question is: what will he do with it?
"We are definitely going to keep it at this point," Overland says. "It's such a special story and my daughter loves purple, so she would be sad if we gave it away. We decided it's cool to keep around the house."
He says maybe they will turn it into a piece of jewelry or just display it in a case.
