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Struggling housewife's rare find in husband's dinner

A poor housewife is set for a windfall after finding a rare orange melo pearl in Thailand.

Sifino Kasemson, 29, ordered seafood online so she could prepare a special meal for her husband at home in Songkhla province near the border with Malaysia on June 7.

The woman bought a kilo of apple snails for $5 but after she had cooked them and scooped the meat from the shell, a brightly coloured round object fell out.

Sifino inspected the object and realised that it was a type of rare pearl that would be worth up to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the size and quality.

Sifino Kasemson, 29, hopes to buy a house for her family. Source: Viral Press/Australscope
Sifino Kasemson, 29, hopes to buy a house for her family. Source: Viral Press/Australscope

"I am going to keep the pearl safely in my house in the meantime because of its price but if there is anyone interested in giving an offer I might consider selling," she said.

"I will use the money to build a house for my family. Some neighbours are now coming to our house everyday to touch and watch the lucky pearl."

The pearl had a smooth orange surface with some white spots on it which will glisten when light shines on them.

Sifino Kasemson, 29, found the pearl in seafood she bought online. Source: Viral Press/Australscope
Sifino Kasemson, 29, found the pearl in seafood she bought online. Source: Viral Press/Australscope

Kannikar Siemmai, the shopkeeper who runs the stall where the shell was first bought, said their sales have significantly increased when the pearl was found.

"Our sales have gone up after knowing that Sifino bought the apple snails from us. My products were usually fished from Jana district in the province," the shopkeeper said.

"People have started buying the shells as they hope they will also find a pearl."

Sifino's melo pearl weighed 1.8 grams but its price was yet to be estimated.

In January, a Thai fisherman named Hatchai Niyomdecha found a similar pearl in Nakhon Si Thammarat province and was offered up to $420,000 for his 7.68-gram precious gem.

Melo pearls range from orange to tan to brown in colour – with orange being the most expensive shade.

They are usually found in South China Sea and Andaman Sea off the coast of Myanmar and are produced by predatory sea snails called Volutidae.

Australscope

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