Pearls have been used in jewellery making and valued highly within our society for many generations, and considered to be great objects of beauty for countless centuries. The most valuable and revered pearls occur quite naturally in oysters or fresh-water mussels but are extremely rare, with the majority of pearls being artificially made, or cultured. They are not the same quality as those that occur naturally but are much cheaper and so are more readily available to everyone.

So considering the rarity of naturally occurring pearls, imagine the surprise of one woman when she discovered two pearls inside an oyster that had cost her less than a pound! Apparently the odds of finding a pearl in this way are around two million to one. The lucky lady was with her fiancé enjoying a celebratory home cooked meal. Shellfish and champagne was the chosen menu as the couple had recently managed to finally buy a new home. The oysters had been carefully cooked smothered in parmesan cheese. read more