The JOGS Gem & Jewelry Show, January 26 – February 6, Tucson Expo Center, Tucson, Arizona, has announced that an extinct Giant Killer Clam Shell and Giant Baroque Pearls will be on display at the 2017 JOGS Show!
Through a story of kindness and generosity, the 2017 JOGS Tucson Gem & Jewelry Show will have a unique find on display – two ancient giant baroque pearls and a giant killer clam shell, which will later be up for auction. Both of these special finds are being brought to the show by Volker Bassen, who dreamed of one day finding a giant pearl of his own.
“I left Sweden and came to East Africa in 1990, visiting Kenya and Tanzania after having been to Morocco and Tunisia,” says Bassen. “Africa had always fascinated me – by the age of 8 I declared to my mother that I was going to move to Africa one day!
“I fell in love with East Africa at first sight – the friendliness and positivity of the people, despite all their hardships and poverty.
“The Eastern Indian Ocean also used to be home to the world’s largest clams, Tridacna Gigantea, a predecessor to today’s giant clams, Tridacna Gigas, which can be found in and around the South China Sea. I have been collecting fossilized specimens of these amazing giant clams ever since I first saw them back in 1990. God doesn’t make them anymore – they became extinct around 180,000 years ago when sea levels suddenly rose by 20 meters.
“Although rare, they are occasionally found deeply embedded in ancient fossilized coral reefs. 4 years earlier, when my son Samuel was born, one of the Digo tribal chiefs gave me the biggest clam in my collection with a staggering weight of 612 kg, the biggest giant clam in the world! It took us a week to clean out the giant clam as it was full of calcified limestone almost as hard as cement.
“To my surprise I found a blister pearl the size of a tomato, followed by a smaller one. I just couldn’t believe my luck, 2 pearls in 1 clam! I decided to call the largest of the pearls ‘Pearl of Noah’ and the smaller pearl ‘Pearl of Siv’, naming them after my children.
“At 1256 carats, the Pearl of Noah is the largest Tridacna Gigantea pearl ever found, while the pearl of Siv, with its 758 carats, is the second largest in the world. Although not as large as the Pearl of Allah, or some other baroque pearls found in Tridacna Gigas clams, the uniqueness is what defines these 2 pearls.”
Volker Bassen also has a charity and 20% of the revenue from the revenue from the sales of any clamshell (including pearls) goes toward different community outreach projects in Kenya.
This amazing find will be available to view or purchase January 26 – February 6, 2017 at the JOGS Gem & Jewelry Show, Tucson Expo Center, Tucson, Arizona. For more information call 877-GEM-SHOW, e-mail info@jogsshow.com or visit www.jogsshow.com.
