Stone Crab Pearl

by Kari
(Muscatine, Iowa)

Bay City resident, Kathy Miller, has found what is believed to be a pearl in a stone crab claw.

Kathy says, “It’s about the size of an English pea. I’ve shown it to some people, and they said it’s a really nice pearl. It’s white with orange specks.”

A graduate gemologist, Allen Green, of Bay City said it was a pearl "of a type" and probably the only one of its kind. He said some irritant must have caused the crab to secrete calcium carbonate and make a pearl.

Green was not able to find any other references to such a pearl and calls it a stone crab pearl.

Miller plans to put her pearl on a pendant.

“It’s unbelievable because nobody’s every heard of it,” Miller said. “But I swear I found a pearl in a stone crab claw.”