These are wampum quahog shell earrings in sterling silver. Our purple and white jewelry is made from the shell of the quahaug (quahog) clam. Wampum has played a significant role in Native American culture for thousands of years. White shell beads (wampi) and purple quahaug beads (saki) are traditionally used as an adornment to display rites of passage, and woven into belts to record oral traditions and validate treaties. Since the early history of the American colonies, strings of shell beads have also been used as a medium of exchange and became America's first standard currency.