Lebanon chef finds 26 pearls in single oyster

[snopes]

A Lebanese woman working in a restaurant kitchen found 26 pearls in an oyster she was preparing for the table and is to submit the find to the Guinness Book of Records.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080909...tronomyfashion

[Furienna]

I wonder if they kept the pearls or sold them.

[Jay Tea]

Originally Posted by Furienna

I wonder if they kept the pearls or sold them.

The pearls will have zero value as gemstones, but they might be worth something to a collector as a curio, if indeed they become imbued with 'world record' value.

[Furienna]

Why would they have zero value as gemstones?

[Jay Tea]

Originally Posted by Furienna

Why would they have zero value as gemstones?

Because they're tiny and mis-shaped. It's actually a very rare thing to find a flawless pearl of the size, shape and lustre that a jeweler would be interested in.

[Furienna]

I did wonder why oisters were so cheap, if pearls are valuable. Thanks for your answer.

[Jay Tea]

Originally Posted by Furienna

I did wonder why oisters were so cheap, if pearls are valuable. Thanks for your answer.

No probs. Natuaral pearls are fiendishly expensive due to their rarity, and strings of matched pearls are mind-blowingly rare, exchanging hands for millions. Cultured pearls fill the market need these days and they look just as nice, even if they are not the same thing at all.

Also, there is a healthy market for mis=shapen pearls, those that get formed up against the shell of the animal for example - being individual and still rare, they still command a pretty penny but nothing like the flawless specimens sought of old.