King Crab Pearl

by Joy Braverman
(West Palm Beach, Florida)

My Gentleman / Significant Other, Bruce, decided we should dine on some King Crab that was in our freezer since January '08... the last we had, purchased from a local grocery. When he was at the last bite, he made a 'sound' - like a small grunt - and I saw him reach at his mouth. I turned back to my last bite thinking he had bit down on a piece of shell.

Then, I heard a "tink" sound... he put something into my dish and said, "Look - I found a PEARL." Of course I thought he was joking but looked and saw an iridescent small white Pearl. I picked it up and while holding it towards the light, I turned it round and round examining it. I was so surprised... amazed. It was a Pearl... as I watched, it began to deepen in color and change from white to a light pinkish-lavender - still iridescent. Bruce said it must have changed as it was drying...

I was so excited I didn't know what to do... so I frantically rushed to my computer, typed into my Google Search Tool the words "King / Crab / Pearl" and hit search - up popped as the first entry, King Crab Pearl... Pearl or not? or something similar. I clicked that link and found myself on the Karipearls site where I read the story of the woman who was eating King Crab in Naples, FL around January 08 and found a pearl.

There was a picture... it compared to mine and at least I KNEW I was not crazy! It's possible. It's happened! We truly found a pearl.

I entered a comment on the site, took pictures, printed and saved every bit of documentation I entered and found as well as saving the portion of the King Crab leg that it had come from. I contacted the Palm Beach Post via email to share my story though I have not yet heard back from them. The next day, Bruce suggested that I contact CBS News 12, West Palm Beach our local station.

The newscaster came to my home and documented my tale while filming me and the information for that evenings news. They are now awaiting a report from me as to the progress in having our pearl appraised - once completed, I'm to report that finding back to the news team. They were as excited as I was to have this happen.

How strange it was to find after they left, after they had filmed the pinkish-lavender pearl, as I was putting it all away back in the hidey-hole, the pearl had suddenly gone back to being an irridescent white... I wonder why that is. I wonder if it will turn again, to that light pinkish-lavender - and why.

No matter the color or the worth, we feel so fortunate and filled with an excitement that does not come often!