A COMMERCIAL QUAHOGGER since he was 14, Brendan Breen knew that the clams don’t often produce pearls. The discovery of such a gem in the wild is considered “incredibly rare,” he says.
But as an aquaculture student at the University of Rhode Island, Breen realized that quahogs share a striking anatomical similarity to pearl-producing oysters of the Pacific Ocean, and he began to experiment.
After two years of research and lab work, he’d produced the world’s first cultured quahog pearl. In February, Breen officially founded Mercenaria LLC with plans of eventually entering the pearl market with the previously almost unheard-of commodity.
The company is now in small-scale production at one aquaculture farm and has plans to soon open another in Rhode Island. Pearls will take about two years to produce, but the company is already eyeing the market. Breen is considering selling loose pearls to designers overseas or funneling them to Rhode Island jewelry designers.
“We’re entertaining all options for sure, and we want to make sure we maintain the exclusivity of these pearls through inventory control,” he said.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Graham@PBN.com.
