A lucky couple are celebrating after finding a rare and expensive Melo pearl while tucking into their dinner in Thailand.

Tewalee Seetonwong, 33, and her husband had bought the two snails at a market in Chonburi province to have for supper on May 22.

They went home and shucked the molluscs, before slicing and boiling them to serve with a papaya salad.

While enjoying the inconspicuous meal, Tewalee's husband bit into a hard object embedded in the soft meat.

Assuming it was a pebble, he spat it out - only to discover that it was an orange pearl, which they believed to be a sought-after Melo pearl they had often seen in news reports.

Excited Tewalee grabbed the valuable pale orange jewel from her spouse to wash it. She is currently storing the pearl in a small heart-shaped box after it was authenticated by gemologists in the capital Bangkok.

She said: 'I never expected to find such a rare item while we were simply having dinner at home. I don't know yet if it's an authentic Melo pearl or not, but even if it were, I've decided not to sell it and to just keep it as a souvenir.'

Melo pearls are formed by the Melo melo sea snail and are considered extremely rare because only a small percentage of the molluscs produce them. They are typically light yellow to orange to brown in hue, with orange pearls fetching the highest price.

Like diamonds, there isn't a set price for these rare pearls as it highly depends on the quality and colour although it could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 2010, a 224.30-carat Melo pearl was sold for 722,500 USD (585,000 GBP) giving it a 3,200 USD (2,591 GBP) per carat price tag.