A Victoria man was in for a big surprise when he bit into an oyster filled with dozens of pearls this past weekend.
Eric Bourquin was attending a dinner party where pan-fried oysters were on the menu.
“The first two I had were fine, and then the third one I had was just like, crunch!'” Bourquin told Global News.
Bourquin began pulling what he thought were rocks out of his mouth, only to find at least a dozen white pearls.
“Well, we’re all kind of jaw dropped — just unbelievable,” said Bourquin.
But inside the other half of the oyster, there was still more to come.
“I started pressing and more pearls started coming out,” said Bourquin. “We’re all just standing there going, ‘Wow, this is unreal!’ Never seen anything like this before.”
The group counted them up to find 49 in total of all different sizes and shapes. They marveled at just how rare the find was.
“You know, one in 10,000 chance of finding one, let alone 48 in one, said Bourquin. “It’s pretty interesting.”
Even though the chances of finding another one are unlikely, Bourquin is keeping the exact spot the oyster was picked up a secret.
He’ll only say it was from a beach in Bayne’s Sound, south of Courtenay.
As for what to do with the pearls now?
“My wife was thinking a pendent, maybe some earrings or a ring,” he said. “Lots of possibilities, there’s some big enough ones there you can string them up — that’s for sure.”
It turns out, the pearls are not worth all that much, but Bourquin said the value is in the experience.
“I’ve never found anything like this,” he said. “So, it’s something to tell our friends and family for years to come.”
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