Newbie alert!

Please kindly give me more information about this pearl that I found on a joyful day of eating clams.

Looks like a quahog pearl-- congrats! Nice find!

Pearl Dreams said:

Looks like a quahog pearl-- congrats! Nice find!

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Thank you for your response! What would you say with the size of it, will it be valuable?

Quahog pearls can be pricey. I am not an expert on quahogs, but in general, beautiful purple colors are more valuable than white, and with pearls in general round shaped pearls are preferred to non-round shapes. But many non-round quahogs fetch a good price! Also, surface quality matters.

Are those cracks I see?
Was the pearl found in a cooked clam or raw?

Here is a website where one can buy quahog and other natural pearls. It may give you an idea of their retail value. (If you were to sell it, the buyer would have to be able to mark it up to sell it).

You may wish to consider having it set and wearing it. It is certainly a conversation piece!

Must be the cotton lint, found the pearl when it's flash-fry cooked, I think I should tale a better photo. Thank you for the suggestion I will reach them out!

A quahog is a rare find. This one isn't terribly valuable, though. The color and white banding aren't ideal. It does look like it cracked when flash fried. That's an issue with a lot of the naturals that are found. People often bite into them after it's been steamed or fried. And a cooked pearl is usually a cracked pearl.

jshepherd said:

A quahog is a rare find. This one isn't terribly valuable, though. The color and white banding aren't ideal. It does look like it cracked when flash fried. That's an issue with a lot of the naturals that are found. People often bite into them after it's been steamed or fried. And a cooked pearl is usually a cracked pearl.

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Speaking of "cooking" pearls, how is blanching pearls (quahog in this case) embedded inside the clam different from using hot water to loosen pearls from their settings, or heating pearls during maeshori (IIRC being one of the steps)? Is it the time and/or temperature? Or something else?

I would guess temperature. Hot water from the tap isn't hot enough to cook food (at least, I hope not, because you might burn yourself).

LorenLL said:

Speaking of "cooking" pearls, how is blanching pearls (quahog in this case) embedded inside the clam different from using hot water to loosen pearls from their settings, or heating pearls during maeshori (IIRC being one of the steps)? Is it the time and/or temperature? Or something else?

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Pearls can crack from expansion during cooking for two reasons. First, thermal co-efficiency where dissimilar materials expand and contract at different rates, thus causing cracks. The other being gas expansion. Pearls in situ have a slightly higher moisture content than stored pearls and may expand when heated.

Cracking is not the sole concern. Aragonite reverts to calcite rapidly in the environment. Heat and steam are harsh environments and residual proteins are water soluble. Even when cracking doesn't occur, luster is often affected nonetheless.

Things like steam shucking may not affect pearls much because only the minimal amount of heat is used to open shells without overcooking the contents. Likewise, quick frying or blanching may not have much effect, where stewed or baked items might. I suppose much of it depends on the pearl itself too, pearls are like snowflakes and may vary widely.

Pearl Dreams said:

Quahog pearls can be pricey. I am not an expert on quahogs, but in general, beautiful purple colors are more valuable than white, and with pearls in general round shaped pearls are preferred to non-round shapes. But many non-round quahogs fetch a good price! Also, surface quality matters.

Are those cracks I see?
Was the pearl found in a cooked clam or raw?

Here is a website where one can buy quahog and other natural pearls. It may give you an idea of their retail value. (If you were to sell it, the buyer would have to be able to mark it up to sell it).

Quahog Pearls for Sale

Quahog pearls for sale...pearls from eastern USA. Three lavender disk shaped quahogs for sale.

www.karipearls.com

You may wish to consider having it set and wearing it. It is certainly a conversation piece!

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This was so interesting to look at, especially the bit near the bottom about the Golash Brooch. Golash Quahog Pearl Brooch - Pearl of Venus, an extremely rare, purple-colored, button-shaped, non-nacreous pearl (https://internetstones.com/the-golash-quahog-pearl-brooch-the-pearl-of-venus.html)

Do you know, is the quahog pearl market mostly jewelers, or collectors? I'm sure there are both, but mostly?

Thanks for sharing!

Merrily said:

This was so interesting to look at, especially the bit near the bottom about the Golash Brooch. Golash Quahog Pearl Brooch - Pearl of Venus, an extremely rare, purple-colored, button-shaped, non-nacreous pearl (https://internetstones.com/the-golash-quahog-pearl-brooch-the-pearl-of-venus.html)

Do you know, is the quahog pearl market mostly jewelers, or collectors? I'm sure there are both, but mostly?

Thanks for sharing!

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As far as I know, quahog pearls are mainly a collector’s item. I have never personally seen a piece of jewelry utilizing them, aside from those very rare mixed natural pearl strands. I don’t see why they couldn’t be used, though. This little one is absolutely adorable.