00:00 It's usually found in the lower reaches of the world.
00:05 It takes a million years to make it.
00:09 If it's made of clay or stone,
00:12 it's not easy to find pearl.
00:16 It's like the Philippines.
00:17 Yes, that's right.
00:19 It's usually found there,
00:20 but in Antique,
00:21 it's found in a huge amount of pearls.
00:26 That's a big one.
00:27 That's the story of
00:28 Edano Tingkungco.
00:30 When you wear it,
00:33 it looks elegant and rich.
00:37 In terms of design and color,
00:39 it's natural beauty is very high.
00:42 That's why our country
00:43 also called it "Palayaw".
00:45 Pearl is a gem that is adorned.
00:49 Especially here in Antique,
00:50 because their pearls are huge
00:53 and the value is said to be up to 100 million dollars.
00:57 [Music]
01:04 Here in a fish spa in Antique,
01:07 you can find 4 of the biggest pearls in the world.
01:12 The biggest and heaviest
01:14 can reach up to 30 kilos.
01:17 One of the owners of the giant pearl
01:19 is the businessman, Jesse.
01:21 I didn't expect there was a pearl that big.
01:24 When I came here to Tibiao,
01:26 I just hid it in my house.
01:27 For 2 years.
01:29 There's a deep story about the pearl
01:31 and how it was found.
01:33 I have a business in Boracay.
01:35 I supply seafood.
01:37 I have a friend there,
01:39 his name is Rudel.
01:41 He said he saw a giant pearl
01:44 and he brought it here to Boracay in 2014.
01:48 At first, Jesse wasn't sure
01:50 if it was a real pearl
01:52 because of its huge size.
01:53 So he decided to approach
01:55 a fisheries technologist, Flord.
01:57 I did some tests.
01:59 The first one was a light test.
02:01 We put the pearl under the light.
02:05 The light passed through.
02:07 That's one of the indicators
02:09 that it's made of calcium carbonate.
02:11 The second indicator I checked
02:13 was that there are growth rings.
02:15 I said, "Why don't we bring it to BIFAR
02:18 and eventually to Manila
02:20 to confirm and conduct more tests?"
02:23 After a lot of research,
02:25 it was confirmed as a pearl.
02:27 To be recognized,
02:29 Jesse and Flord registered the pearl
02:31 in the National Museum of the Philippines
02:33 as a cultural property.
02:35 It needs to be registered
02:37 so we can be given a title.
02:40 We also want to have a "Tibyao".
02:42 When tourism grew here,
02:44 we thought of a giant pearl
02:47 that can attract visitors.
02:49 From a giant pearl,
02:51 it was followed by three more
02:53 giant pearls that were sold to them.
02:56 This pearl could possibly be
02:58 almost 100 million dollars.
03:00 It's a bit scary that
03:02 many people will be interested.
03:04 At the same price as the giant pearls,
03:06 Jesse and Flord's lives
03:08 might change.
03:10 But the wealth of giant pearls
03:12 is not guaranteed.
03:14 You should know that
03:16 different types of pearls
03:18 are sold in different countries.
03:20 The pearls that we see
03:22 mostly sold in the market
03:24 are guaranteed cultural pearls.
03:26 It's formed by man
03:28 with human intervention.
03:30 When you say pearls right now,
03:32 it's something that you use for your jewelry.
03:34 It has an orient,
03:36 that iridescence,
03:38 that kind of give it that luminous glow.
03:40 The ones that you're referring to,
03:42 they don't have that.
03:44 These Taklobo pearls
03:46 are not human intervention.
03:48 Giant clams and Taklobo
03:54 are in danger of extinction.
03:56 That's why it's protected
03:58 and forbidden to take them.
04:00 Don't let them shine
04:02 because of the importance of giant pearls.
04:04 Let's not disturb them
04:06 because they are protected species.
04:08 There is a specific body
04:10 that rules on what can be sold or traded.
04:12 Meanwhile,
04:14 after the decision of Jesse and Flor
04:16 that they will not sell
04:18 the giant pearls that are in their care.
04:20 At present,
04:22 these are displayed in a small museum in Antique.
04:24 But Jesse admitted
04:26 that he still thinks about
04:28 selling the pearls at the right time and importance.
04:30 For me, I'm still blessed
04:32 because
04:34 first of all,
04:36 luck came to my life.
04:38 To the majority of people,
04:42 I was lucky.
04:44 These giant pearls actually represent
04:46 the Philippines.
04:48 It represents our culture.
04:50 It represents our natural heritage.
04:52 That's why it's important
04:54 to protect and preserve.
04:56 It's really impressive
04:58 how giant these pearls are.
05:00 In this beautiful and rare
05:02 size, our country
05:04 is truly the only
05:06 pearl of the East.
05:08 I'm Dano Tincunco and that's the story
05:10 of Alambo.
05:12 [music]
05:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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