As per a WJAR report, frequent visitors from Rhode Island to The Bridge Restaurant and Raw Bar, located in downtown Westerly, not only enjoyed delectable clams but also discovered both precious jewelry and love during their visits.
Sandy Sikorski and Ken Steinkamp, who have been regulars for the past four years, have made it a tradition to relish meals at this charming establishment.
“They’re bigger, they come on platters upraised, they have great horseradish and everything I love about it,” said Ms. Sikorski, “they taste delicious.”
In December 2021, during one of their visits, they savored Quahogs while dining with Sikorski’s brother and his wife at the restaurant. As they reached the end of their meal, they found themselves left with just one Quahog.
“Ok, Sandy you have it,” Mr. Steinkamp said. “You really like these.”
Upon taking the last Quahog into her mouth, Sikorski received more than just a mouthful of clam.
“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?’” she recalled. “So, I take it and spit it down on the table, in my hand, and my sister in-law says, ‘Is that a tooth?’”
Upon realizing it wasn’t a tooth, they discovered an exquisite surprise inside the clam – a perfectly shaped 9.8-millimeter oval pearl nestled within the meat. Intrigued by their rare find, Sikorski sought the expertise of Marc Fishbone from Black Orchid Jewelers, a renowned company known for crafting custom jewelry.
According to a Breitbart News report, Mr. Fishbone identified the pearl as a Mercenaria pearl, possibly taking nearly 50 years to form. He expressed that such well-formed pearls are exceptionally rare, estimating it to be one in a million due to its exceptional quality. Notably, its remarkable size added to its uniqueness, making this pearl quite extraordinary.
“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,” Sikorsky said. “Plus, it’s big.”
After being in a relationship for four years, Sikorski and Steincamp made a significant decision to fashion the pearl into an engagement ring, as mentioned in the WJAR report.
According to reports, they approached Fishbone with a specific request to create a ring with a gold setting that wouldn’t damage the precious pearl.
On July 8, Steincamp took a traditional approach, getting down on one knee with the exquisite ring in hand, and tenderly asked Sikorski to marry him, which she gladly accepted, sealing their love and commitment.
“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.”
