PA Man Finds Rare Purple Pearl In Vacation Dinner

REHOBOTH BEACH, DE — It's safe to say no one wants to find something out of the ordinary in their dinner, and certainly not while dining on vacation. For Scott Overland of Pennsylvania, however, what he found while noshing on his appetizer at a Delaware restaurant was nothing short of a treasure.

Overland, who lives in Phoenixville, was having dinner with his wife and two kids at Salt Air in Rehoboth Beach last week when he found a rare purple pearl in their clams.

Overland was chewing when he bit down on something hard, he told Patch via email.

"I thought it was a piece of shell," Overland said. "When we looked at it, it was actually purple."

Overland and his wife spent a few moments trying to figure out what they just found. At first, they thought the chef possibly dropped a bead or piece of candy in the food, Overland said.

Further inspection of the clam, however, revealed an "indentation," he continued, leading them to believe something had grown inside it.

"Neither of us knew that clams could produce pearls," Overland said. "We thought they only came from oysters."

It turns out all mollusks — this includes oysters, mussels and clams — can make pearls, according to Smithsonian magazine.

Overland's clam was a northern quahog grown by Cherrystone Aqua Farms in the Chesapeake Bay, according to a USA Today report citing Salt Air staff. Ballard Clams and Oysters spokesman Tim Parsons confirmed the species.

Quahogs — more commonly referred to as hard-shelled clams — inhabit the mud flats along the eastern seaboard from Canada to Florida. They can also be found along California's Pacific coast. Their pearls range in color from white and light gray to varied shades of purple, according to the Gemological Institute of America.

Finding a quahog pearl is uncommon, according to the institute, because cleaning and shucking clams are often done mechanically. Pearls are usually lost or destroyed in the process.

Quahog pearls are usually found in an unsuspecting person's food, the institute wrote.

As for Overland's pearl, he said he plans to get it appraised in the coming weeks. The pearl will likely be kept as a unique family heirloom and a token to remember their trip, Overland said.

They may also turn it into a piece of jewelry, Overland added.

"But I am going to have to keep eating a lot of clams to find a second one if my wife wants earrings," Overland said.