Spinning Moon Necklace with Quahog Shell Wampum & Abalone

This is a unique piece. The center of this piece spins. One side features a hand carved and polished purple quahog shell (Wampum). The other side features a hand carved piece of Abalone. It comes on an 18" Stainless steel snake chain necklace. The half moon setting is stainless steel.

I create one-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry from quahog shells that are found on the beaches of Cape Cod and New England. Each shell is carved using a rotary tool with a diamond bit. The back of the shell is ground down to see how much of the natural purple color comes through the shell and then is cut into the rough design. I fine tune the shape and design by sanding with finer detailed bits. Once complete, the pieces are put into a rock tumbler for 3 weeks which smooths the edges and polishes the shell. Each piece is unique because no two shells have the same markings on them.

The quahog shell (pronounced kow-haag) is a clam with purple and white coloring. The quahog clam lives in the coastal waters of the northeastern United States. The purple and white striations and patterns on the inside of the shell are created by minerals in the mud where the quahogs are dug.