While walking on the beach, an elderly fisherman stumbled upon a strange “rock” and took it home, unexpectedly discovering it to be a treasure of the sea worth 30 billion VND.
Recently, during a trip to the sea, Mr. Narong Phetcharaj, a fisherman living along the Niyom coast in southern Thailand, stumbled upon a peculiar-shaped rock washed up on the sandy shore. He took it home, suspecting it might be the ocean treasure many people talk about. Later, the unsightly rock was assessed by experts at Prince of Songkla University. They confirmed that it was a piece of ambergris, just as the old man had suspected.
The ambergris piece that Mr. Narong Phetcharaj found.
Ambergris is a gray waxy substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales when their bile ducts increase secretion to process indigestible materials they have swallowed. It is usually white, gray, or brown, with various shapes, and is prone to melting at high temperatures. When first expelled by a sperm whale, ambergris is soft and slimy and hardens over time while floating in the ocean.
The price of ambergris can reach up to £30,000 per kilogram, equivalent to nearly 1 billion VND. It has long been considered “floating gold” because it is an extremely rare material used in the perfume industry, helping to fix scents on human skin. Today, industrial chemicals are used, and ambergris is typically reserved for very high-end, luxury perfumes. According to National Geographic, high-end perfume brands like Chanel and Lanvin utilize this ingredient.
The elderly fisherman Narong stated that the piece of ambergris he found weighs about 30 kg, and it is estimated that it could be sold for nearly £1 million (over 30 billion VND).
“In my village, no one has ever seen or touched real ambergris from sperm whales, so everyone is very curious to see and touch it,” Mr. Narong said, adding: “I plan to sell the ambergris as I have received a certificate confirming its authenticity. If I can sell it for a good price, I won’t go fishing anymore and will throw a party for my friends.”
Last year, another Thai fisherman also found a “ocean treasure.” Mr. Naris Suwannasang was walking on the beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat when he noticed light-colored objects resembling stones washed ashore. He and his family used a lighter to test it, and it melted immediately. According to Naris, the total weight of these ambergris pieces was 100 kg, making it one of the largest ambergris discoveries ever.
