Polishing wampum (Quahog Shell) Quahog Pearl?

Recently A local “freebie” paper had an article on a guy who found a
great deal at a garage sale. For $14 he bought a brooch that
contained a weird looking pearl, purple in color. Someone identified
it as a Quahog pearl, possibly the only one in existence. Thus quite
valuable. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Do clams make
pearls? Could this really be the only one? I must admit that I have
not read the article myself, this is all second hand info. One of my
consigners is going to bring me a copy this week, so possibly we will
know more soon. So, for all you east coasters out there, Quahogs got
pearls!!! waz up wit dat?

Mark Thomas Ruby
SunSpirit Designs
Loveland, CO
970 622-9500 studio
970 622-9510 fax

 Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Do clams make pearls? Could
this really be the only one? From a quick Google search Mark 

"An important=97and very valuable=97=93quahog=94 natural pearl made
headlines this week, valued by experts at $1 million!

You=92re not alone if you=92ve never heard of a =93quahog=94 pearl and=
are
asking yourself what is it. =93One of the rarest of natural pearls is
the quahog pearl,=94 explains Antoinette Matlins, a pearl expert and
author of The Pearl Book (Gemstone Press). =93This lovely pearl
typically occurs in unusual shades of color from purple to lilac, and
it is created in the “quahog” clam that thrives in the Atlantic
ocean, off the shores of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.=94

http://www.expertclick.com/Newsreleasewire/default.cfm?Action=ReleaseDet=
ail&ID=4153

link to rest of article

Al Heywood

    ...Someone identified it as a Quahog pearl, possibly the only
one in existence. Thus quite valuable. Has anyone ever heard of
such a thing? Do clams make pearls? 

Mark, Clams, mussels and oysters all have the capability of making
pearls under the right conditions. We used to throw away the fresh
water pearls out of mussels so they wouldn’t break our teeth. Weird
shapes, all colors, sometimes as many as several dozen in each shell,
pretty much making the mussel inedible. Hhmmppff! Now they want an
arm and a leg, and your first-born child, for what we threw away!

And for the gullible person who is believing this is the only one in
existence, I’ve got some property in Wyoming I’d like to sell them.
Pristene, virgin land, teeming with wildlife…and only snows 9
months of the year.