Freda Bryant went to Full Moon Oyster Bar in Morrisville and got an exciting surprise in her food. She and her daughter -- coming from a doctor's appointment -- ordered some oysters.
"I'm eating the oyster and I go 'Oh my god, my tooth came out!'" Bryant said. "Then, she's like 'Mom really, that's a pearl'...It's like one in 10,000 chances of this happening."
She's right. Only about one in 10,000 wild oysters produce a pearl.
According to research institute Texas Sea Grant, Pearls are formed when an irritant, like a grain of sand, enters the oyster shell. The oyster then coats it with layers of nacre. Since these layers are thin, it can take two to three years to form a 3 to 5-mm pearl.
Pearls sold in stores are cultured, which means humans insert an irritant into the oyster to make a pearl.
Bryant said finding the pearl feels like a direct message from the universe to keep moving forward positively in her life.
She'll be getting the pearl appraised soon, Bryant said, to find out how much it's worth.