A man from Florida has bitten more than what he chewed from a $10 plate of steamed clams he and his wife ordered at a beach bar. He found from the dish a rare purple pearl that is probably worth thousands.

George Brock and his wife Leslie turned out to be the lucky diners at Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar on Friday. The couple from Royal Palm Beach ordered steamed clams containing the gem.

George did not notice the pearl until he bit on the hard iridescent gem.

Wftv.com quoted Vermont gemologist Antoinette Matlins as saying that the pearl is rare because few of such kind are round and have a lovely color. The TV network also quoted Brock as saying that they will sell the pearl if appraisal confirms it is worth a lot of money.

Large New England quahogs are known to produce the pearl. This type of clams can be distinguished by the violet coloring of the inside of their shells.

According to restaurant manager Tom Gerry, Brock's plate of clams came from Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle.