Red Coral

[diagem]

I wanted to know if anyone has experience with red coral?
I recently encountered some pieces, and i want to use some pieces for jewelry ideas i have.

Any help will do, like how to identify color vs. coloring...
and any tips on price structure!

thanks

 

[Barbara]

Hi DiaGem,

Perhaps a good place to start you off is with some general information on the use of coral as a gemstone.

This link will take you to a pictoral essay on the subject that I use in teaching my gemology course.

Barbara
http://www.bwsmigel.info/GEOL.115.ESSAYS/Gemology.Coral.html

 

[diagem]

Date: 11/2/2006 11:09:29 AM
Author: Barbara
Hi DiaGem,

Perhaps a good place to start you off is with some general information on the use of coral as a gemstone.

This link will take you to a pictoral essay on the subject that I use in teaching my gemology course.

Barbara
http://www.bwsmigel.info/GEOL.115.ESSAYS/Gemology.Coral.html

Thank you Barbara,

It gave me a start into understanding...
My question to you is you can help is: what is the method of detecing dyed red colour coral?
And while i am at it, do you have any picture of how a sawn plane of a red coral should look like under magnification?

Thanks in advance,

 

[Barbara]

Hi DiaGem,

I guess this will sound like a cop out, but whether the dye can be readily detected or not is a matter of what kind of dye is used and the type of coral being dyed. Stoney, sponge and bamboo corals can all be dyed and there are different methods used by different producers. The crudest dyes (which do look quite convincing) can often be detected by rubbing with a swab dipped in acetone (or being soaked in that solvent). If you can spare a bead or a tiny piece try this, but keep in mind it could be a destructive test. Other dyeing methods such as impregnating with colored epoxies can be very difficult to reveal.

As coral is simulated by glass, ceramic and plastic as well as being dyed, your best friend is your microscope. In most cases natural corals will show some evidence of organic anatomy at high magnification. Pores, striations, patterns, etc. Sometimes this magnification will show you dye concentrations in pores and fractures or, as in the photo in my essay, reveal epoxy.

If high tech impregnation processes are used (as with jadeite) it may be necessary to send the material to a lab with fluorescence spectrometers and other such devices to be sure.

Although there is a lot of dyed material out there, there is still a goodly amount of unenhanced stuff, but it is getting more and more expensive. The pinks and light oranges are still affordable, its the blood red that is hardest to find.

Sorry I cannot be more helpful. For myself, especially with the red stoney corals, I buy from a trusted supplier, and err on the side of caution in labeling it for sale. If I am unsure at all I use the (E) code.

And, sorry again, but no I do not have a photo of a sawn dyed piece. Good idea though.

Barbara

 

[diagem]

Barbara thank you for the usefull info.

 

[poptart]

I don''t know anything about this subject, but with the declining state of the coral reefs these days, are there any environmental ways to harvest red coral? I remember getting pink coral earrings in Hawaii when I was ten and feeling so badly afterward when I found out that the coral reefs are in danger... just wondering!

*M*