A lucky villager is celebrating after finding a valuable freshwater pearl in a clam while cooking lunch at a kids' shelter in Thailand.

Pikun Tong, 57, had bought 100 baht (2.91 USD) worth of shellfish to feed orphans at the children's home in Chiang Mai province on April 8.

She washed and steamed the clams overnight before enlisting the youngsters' help to shuck them the following day.

As the children tore the soft meat from the shells they discovered several tiny beads that looked like pearls and excitedly showed them to Pikun.

She jokingly told the children to find an even larger pearl, but was shocked when they later returned holding what appeared to be a sizeable precious stone.

Baffled Pikun sent the pearl to a lab for testing. The results came back on April 19, verifying that she had found an authentic 1.161-carat freshwater pearl.

Footage shows Pikun with local reporters showing off a lab certification proving the pearl was genuine.

She said: 'It's like a miracle because the chances of finding a pearl in a clam are very low. I think the pearl is priceless, but its monetary value probably differs for each person.'

She added that she is currently looking for buyers, and will use the windfall to fund the children's education. The pearl, depending on its purity, could be worth the equivalent of around 700 to 800 USD.

She said: 'I can use the money for scholarships, or to support the children's career development to help them support themselves in the future.'

Last March, a struggling Thai man in Chonburi province found a rare Melo pearl potentially worth around 15,000 USD inside a snail he was having for lunch.

Amorn Prakongkwan, 54, discovered the 10.33-carat orange stone that had fallen into his cooking pot from a Melo volute he was boiling.