Thai driver ate 1.75 million from conch! What exactly is this treasure?

Not long ago, a truck driver in Thailand bought some conches at the market. While eating the conches, his family ate an orange bead the size of a coin. After identification, it was confirmed to be a Merlot pearl. The market estimated its price to be as high as 1.75 million yuan!

Mainstream media reports

As soon as the news came out, many netizens rushed to the comment area to admire the European atmosphere. Some netizens even rolled up their sleeves and prepared to eat conches. But with all due respect, this kind of natural pearl is super rare. It’s not like we should “eat more conchs when there is nothing to do”. "You can meet it. Just like the vendor who sold conch to a Thai driver this time said that in twenty years of selling conch, no one has ever eaten this kind of pearl!

Let’s talk about the truck driver and his pearl first. It is said that the driver was not in a hurry to sell, but put the pearl in a bank safe, perhaps still waiting for a more favorable price. What will this Merlot pearl eventually be sold for? The price at which it was sold is unknown. However, Merlot pearls have always been highly sought after in the collection market due to their rarity and value. Looking at the Merlot pearls at auction, the transaction prices are rising!

So what exactly are Merlot pearls? Why is it so valuable?

You may know that conch beads are very precious and rare in the pearl world, and Melo Pearls are a major category of conch beads. The two most famous types of conch pearls are the pink Conch Pearls that we are more familiar with, and the other is the Melo Pearls we are talking about today. Among them, the value of Melo Pearls is usually higher than that of Conch Pearls. .

Coconut snail

Merlot pearls grow in coconut vortex snails, which mostly live in Southeast Asia such as the South China Sea, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Encountering coconut snails depends entirely on luck. Fishermen sometimes only find 2-3 when they go out to sea, and most of the time they can't catch them at all.

Merlot pearls are formed in the same way that other pearls are formed in the bodies of shellfish. When irritants enter the body of the conch, the conch will secrete calcium to reduce discomfort, and Merlot pearls are formed in this process.

Generally, oysters have a mother-of-pearl layer inside their shells, but Merlo conch does not.

One thing worth noting is that there is generally a thick nacreous layer inside the oyster shell. This material can show a variety of colors. During the formation process of the pearl, the nacreous layer will also grow to the outer layer of the pearl, thus making the The surface of the pearl becomes bright.

There is no mother-of-pearl layer on the shell of coconut snails, so Merlot pearls do not contain nacreous layers. In official descriptions such as GIA, "non-nacreous pearl" (non-nacreous pearl) is used, but in normal times When it comes to Melo beads, everyone is still accustomed to using "pearl" to describe it.

Why are Merlot pearls precious?

Generally speaking, an item is valuable mostly because it is rare. Remember what we said earlier that the coconut snails that breed Merlot pearls are hard to come by? And the probability of finding a pearl in this kind of conch is even one in a thousand!

In addition, unlike pearls that can be cultivated in oysters, Merlot pearls cannot yet be cultivated artificially. In other words, every Merlot pearl in the world is absolutely natural without human intervention, which of course makes it more attractive.

High-quality Merlot pearls with ceramic texture and flame texture

Furthermore, Merlot pearls without nacre have no pearl luster, but they have a delicate texture like ceramics and unique cloud-like or flame-like textures. This is an important factor in identifying the quality of a Merlot pearl. , the most precious Merlot pearls also have the most outstanding porcelain-like luster and flame structure.

In addition to luster and texture, the color, shape, size, etc. of Merlot pearls are also considered.

Looking at the shape, Merlot pearls are large in size. The most perfect and typical shape is spherical, usually oval or pebble-shaped, and occasionally slightly longer Baroque shapes.

The most interesting thing is the size measurement standard of Merlot pearls. Generally speaking, pearls are measured in millimeters, but I wonder if you have noticed that Merlot pearls are measured in the same way as diamonds, in carats. When other qualities are optimal, the larger the carat, the rarer and more precious the Merlot pearl.

After reading the above introduction, do you have a new understanding of Melezhu? It can be said that the formation of Meile beads depends entirely on the mood of Mother Nature. Rarely seen at auctions and hard to find in the general market, it is highly sought after by high-end jewelry brands. It is worthy of being the "super top" in the pearl world!