A father and daughter in Washington, USA, were fortunate enough to discover a clam containing a pearl, and it wasn’t just any pearl; it was a deep purple pearl.
A student, dining out with her father at their favorite restaurant, decided to indulge in a dish that isn’t always available. What they unexpectedly received during their meal was truly beyond imagination.
Brooklyn, 23, a student and writing tutor residing in Washington, enjoyed a plate of clams at the “iconic” Ivar’s Acres of Clams in Seattle while having dinner with her father.
The pearl that Brooklyn and her father found while eating sautéed clams at a restaurant in Seattle. Initially, they thought it was a stone or a marble. (Photo: Reddit u/nomadquail).
When Brooklyn’s father took his first bite of clam, they noticed something unusual: the clam contained a pearl, and not just any pearl, but a deep purple one.
“When he bit down, my dad thought it was a big stone, but when he took it out, he saw it was a pearl. He showed it to me, and I thought he was joking,” Brooklyn told Newsweek.
“It looked very much like a metallic marble, but after picking it up, we were sure it had to be a pearl,” she continued.
The waiter at the restaurant confirmed that it was indeed a pearl. He told Brooklyn and her father that although it is “very rare,” they sometimes find pearls here. Brooklyn noted that the server mentioned they usually find white pearls, making it special for this father-daughter duo to “discover a purple pearl.”
Pearls are typically worn as jewelry and are formed as a natural defense mechanism: when an irritant, such as a parasite, invades creatures like clams, oysters, or mussels, they secrete layers of aragonite and conchiolin, creating a material known as nacre.
Bob Donegan, a representative of Ivar’s Acres of Clams, told Newsweek: “We served 15,393 orders of sautéed clams last year, and since pearls are a natural part of clams, it’s not surprising that a customer found one.”
“I have never heard of a purple one in the 27 years I’ve been here,” Donegan said, affirming that Brooklyn and her father were “twice lucky.”
On September 11, Brooklyn shared a photo of the small purple pearl next to her dish on the Reddit forum /r/mildlyinteresting. She wrote: “Found a pearl in a restaurant’s Manila clam.”
This post garnered significant attention, receiving over 49,000 upvotes.
“This happened to me as a child with an oyster,” one user commented. “My mom turned it into a ring for me – I still have it growing up! You should keep yours too.”
Brooklyn told Newsweek that she posted the pearl on the subreddit because “people always share odd things like that” on the platform. “I thought people would enjoy seeing it,” she added.
“I expected it to get just a few upvotes and comments, but the post attracted explosive attention,” Brooklyn said.
“I love all the funny comments from people,” she continued. “I’m so glad everyone has had so much fun with it.”
Regarding her plans for the pearl, Brooklyn mentioned she wants to set it in a ring. Although some commenters suggested the pearl could be “worth a bit,” Brooklyn said she “couldn’t part with it.”
She added: “It’s a unique little item that needs to be kept, especially since I can say we found it at Ivar. It’s a fun little story.”
