Rhode Island woman finds rare pearl while eating clam; makes it an engagement ring

WESTERLY, R.I. (WJAR) — A Rhode Island woman feels like the luckiest girl in the world for two reasons.

One, is her recent engagement, while the other is her one-in-a-million ring.

For the past four years, Sandy Sikorski and Ken Steinkamp have been regulars at "The Bridge Restaurant and Raw Bar" in downtown Westerly.

We come here often to get the clams," said Sikorski. “They’re bigger and they come on platters upraised ... They taste delicious."

For years, the restaurant, which looks over the Pawcatuck River, has offered deals on seafood.

Raw bar is very popular in this area," said Myra Dioisio, a hostess at The Bridge. “We do a buck-a-shuck seven days a week so it draws a lot of crowd, especially in the summertime."

While business booms during tourist months, Sikorski and Steinkamp visit year-round.

In December 2021, they had been eating at the restaurant with Sikorski's brother and wife, and ordered the quahogs.

There was one left. I said, 'OK, Sandy you have it. You really like these," said Steinkamp.

So, I took it and that’s when I tasted this big round thing in my mouth. I’m thinking, 'What the heck is this?' So, I take it and spit it down on the table, in my hand, and my sister in-law says, 'Is that a tooth?'

Instantly, they realized it wasn't a tooth, but some type of a pearl that had been inside he clam.

What are the odds of a pearl being inside of this shell?” said Sikorski.

The perfectly shaped oval had been hiding in the meat of the clam.

Sikorski held on to the 9.8 millimeter pearl and became curious about it.

First, she brought it to The Compass Rose in Westerly. The owner there took a look and referred her to their jewelry maker, Marc Fishbone, of Black Orchid Jewelers.

He said, 'Wow, you got a beauty there. It’s heavy' quote end quote," said Sikorski.

He said it is called a Mercenaria pearl which is a mollusk type of little animal which makes what looks like a little pearl, it’s made out of the same material, calcite, and another mineral in it and takes years and years to grow," she added. "He said the weight of this, and the size of this, is probably 50 years to make."

According to several online articles, the odds of finding one in a clam are about one in 100,000.

“He goes, 'It’s probably one in a million, one in a million to have it perfect. Usually, there’s pieces of them missing and it looks like a tooth or something. It is never like a whole perfect little oval. Plus, it’s big."

Sikorski and Steincamp decided if they were to be engaged, they would use the pearl and create a ring.

They wanted Fishbone to make the setting.

I said, 'Well, I want it to be the most beautiful setting you’ve ever made and I like gold," said Sikorski, "I didn't want a hole in the bottom of the stone, I just wanted it secured."

On July 8, Steinkamp, who asked Sikorski's father for approval first, got down on one knee and popped the question with the beautiful ring in hand.

Sikorski said yes.

It’s been going well and we’re not getting any younger and we felt in a way that this was kind of a signal or an odd bit of synchronicity and we said, 'This would be a great engagement ring and so it is."

“It’s beautiful. It has diamonds and a sparkle and I know minerals are becoming more fashionable gemstones vs a big diamond thing," said Sikorski.

To celebrate their engagement and the ring, the pair recently dined at the restaurant.

It was nice to see them again and hear that story," said Dioisio.“It’s a fairytale, it’s magical, you hear about, 'Oh, I hope to find something in there,' but you never do. It’s always a piece of rock or sand."

Dioisio posted a picture of the ring, and the initial find, to the restaurant's Facebook page.

It was well-received.

A man posted he had shucked 100,000 oysters in his day and he never found one pearl or one of those," said Sikorski.

The more you think about it, it does become a more charming and romantic story," added Steinkamp.

Dioisio shared similar sentiments.

“It makes it so much more special and it gives another added touch when you talk to the guests and they come in, especially this time of the year when we get a lot of tourists and people from out of town who are looking for raw bar," she said. "Maybe they’ll be lucky, maybe today is their lucky day."

Sikorski said in the future, just for fun, she would like to have the pearl appraised. She hopes to eventually pass the ring off to her 8-year-old granddaughter, Nora.

WJAR asked the happy couple if they would have ever thought something like this would happen to them.

“Not in a million years," said Sikorski. "The Bridge jewelry store, an engagement center," said Steinkamp while laughing.