What was the largest naturally occurring pearl ever to be found in history? What is the story behind it?

The largest pearl in history ever to be found was discovered back in 1934 and it weighs about 14 pounds (or 6.4 kilograms) and measures at 9.45 inches (or 24 centimeters) in length. The only mollusk that could produce such an astonishingly sized pearl is the giant clam, otherwise referred to as Tridacna Gigas. These fascinating creatures are actually the largest living mollusks in today's world and they could reach 440 pounds in weight (that's about 200 kilograms) and measure up to 4 feet in length (or 1.2 meters). Tridacna Gigas could have a lifespan of about 100 years, and this is what enables this giant clam to produce such largely scaled pearls. The biggest pearl in history was discovered on the 7th of May 1934 by the local Muslim tribal chief, Panglima Pisi, off the coast of Palawan island in the Philippines. Legend has it that the pearl was actually retrieved by a local diver who subsequently got seized by the giant jaws of the clam and had to sacrifice his life for it. Due to Pisi's religious beliefs and the fact that the pearl actually resembles a turbaned head, the Muslim chief named his discovery as the Pearl of Allah. Soon after his discovery, Pisi was addressed by a man called Wilburn Cobb, the son of an American mining engineer, who wanted to buy the pearl from him. The chief refused to sell the Pearl of Allah, explaining that the human sacrifice the pearl represented could not be bought with money. It was only five years later when Cobb treated the chief's dying son from malaria, when Pisi finally gave the pearl to Cobb as a token of his gratitude. When Cobb returned to New York in 1939, he changed the name of the pearl to the Pearl of Lao Tzu (the name commonly known today) and published his account of the discovery in the Natural History Magazine. During the course of time Cobb was given several offers to buy the pearl from him, ranging from $5 million dollars to $10 million dollars. Cobb insisted that no amount of money could buy such a priceless pearl. It was only in 1979 when Cobb passed away that The Pearl of Lau Tzu was purchased by an investor by the name of Victor M. Barbish. Despite the fact that Barbish was once contacted by a descendant of the Chinese Lee family in order to purchase the pearl from him, the Pearl of Lao Tzu has still remained in his private ownership up until this day. Although the pearl is not a gem quality pearl, on January 2007 the pearl was officially appraised and it was valued at a staggering price of $61.8 million dollars.

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