A woman in Westerly, Rhode Island, is feeling like a million bucks thanks to finding something incredible…in her food.
Sandy Sikorski and Ken Steinkamp are regulars at the local Bridge Restaurant and Raw Bar, where they enjoy eating clams, WJAR reported Tuesday.
While the couple was having dinner at the restaurant with Sikorski’s brother and wife in December 2021, there was one quahog left over, so Steinkamp told Sikorski to enjoy it.
“So I took it, and that’s when I tasted this big round thing in my mouth. I’m thinking, ‘What the heck is this?’ So, I take it and spit it down on the table, in my hand, and my sister-in-law says, ‘Is that a tooth?'” she recalled of the unexpected moment.
Everyone was shocked when they realized it was a pearl that had been tucked into the clam’s meat.
Sikorski took it to Marc Fishbone of Black Orchid Jewelers, a company specializing in designing custom jewelry.
According to Fishbone, it was a Mercenaria pearl that possibly took about 50 years to form. He also said it was “Probably one in a million” because they do not usually form so well, and its size made it unique.
An image shows the pearl sitting in the clam:
“Wow, that’s really awesome. I have shucked definitely over a million clams and oysters in my days and have still never found a pearl yet,” one social media user commented, while another said, “I love this. Some things [are] ‘meant to be!'”
The couple had Fishbone create a custom setting and place the special pearl in a ring to commemorate the occasion.
When the couple got engaged on July 8, the ring was ready for its debut.
“It’s beautiful. It has diamonds and a sparkle, and I know minerals are becoming more fashionable gemstones vs. a big diamond thing,” Sikorski said of the special piece.