Pearl found in birthday meal set in necklace

Jeweller Kevin Bassam offered to make the item for free after hearing Paige Hawkins' story on BBC radio

A jeweller has turned a pearl that a woman’s partner found in a bowl of mussels at her birthday dinner into a pendant.

Paige Hawkins’ partner found the pearl in his meal while they were celebrating at The Quayside restaurant in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, earlier this year.

Kevin Bassam, a West Midlands jeweller, contacted Ms Hawkins after hearing her story on BBC radio and offered to make the pearl into a piece of jewellery for free.

“We were just so blown away by the offer,” said Ms Hawkins, from Kidderminster.

Ms Hawkins said the pendant the jeweller had made was "even better" than she imagined

Mr Bassam, of K Bassam Jewellers, contacted Ms Hawkins via the restaurant after hearing about the pearl on BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester.

“I thought to myself, 'this is a great story, I would like to be involved',” he said.

Mr Bassam said natural pearls, which are formed over many years when a piece of organic matter gets into a shellfish’s shell, were very rare.

He added most jewellery used cultured pearls, where humans place a bead inside a shell and then farm the resulting stones.

“So that makes it more special - and the backstory [of how it was found] makes it even more special,” he said.

Ms Hawkins said she was delighted with the pendant that Mr Bassam had designed.

“It was even better than I imagined, it’s so beautiful,” she said.

“I haven’t taken it off.”