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Mediterranean
Coral
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Orange to deep red Harvesting area: the whole Mediterranean
basin especially Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Jugoslavia
and then Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
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From
30/40 metri up to 150/200.
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Uniform colour, dense pulp. It is generally found
in tree-shaped bushes 15/20 cm high and lO/15cm
wide. The basis diameter varies from 1 to 1,5 cm. The
weight of each bush is about 100/150 gr
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The
compactness of its colour is ideal for plain working,
that is: necklaces, cabochons, ear-drops, pendents
etc.
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Sciacca |
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| Scientific
name |
| Corallium
Rubrum |
| Colour |
| Arancio
(dal chiaro allo scuro). |
| Areas |
| Mare
di Sciacca (Sicilia). |
| Depth |
| Dai
30/40 metri fino a 150/200. |
| Charateristic |
| Dal
1875 alla fine del secolo furono trovati, fuori Sciacca,
tre giacimenti di corallo i quali, fino alla fine
del secolo, fornirono tonnellate e tonnellate di
corallo. Si tratta di corallo subfossile, databile
ad alcuni milioni di anni fà. Non si riesce
a com prendere, se non attraverso un processo chimico,
come è possibile che un materiale organico
quale è il corallo, soggetto quindi a decomporsi,
sia arrivato fino a noi dopo tanti anni. |
| Use |
Il
corallo di Sciacca fu lavorato, circa un secolo fà,
per farne pallini, bottoni, spole, cannette.
Ancora oggi si trova un po' di grezzo, conservato gelosamente nei forzieri
delle aziende più antiche, che lo tengono come reliquie. |
| Bokè (Angel
skin) |
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| Scientific
name |
Corallium
Elatius |
| Colour |
Homogeneous
deep pink |
| Areas |
Japan |
| Depth |
200/300
metres |
| Characteristic |
It
is just one of the many colour varieties
of the japanese corals.It has the same.
It has the same paste, the same consistency
of the Satsuma coral. This too contains
a heart of white limestone. Obviously
in manufactured coral, the less this
white heart is visible, the higher the
price is. When the pink is compact, stainless,
we find ourselves before a rare piece. |
| Utilizzo |
Since
it is very rare, the use is as nationalized
as possible. It is mainly destined to
cabochons for rings and eaarings. Necklaces
are really something special.It is definitely
the most valuable type of coral. |
| Miss (Misu) |
|
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| Scientific
name |
Corallium
Elatius |
| Colour |
White,
pinkish white, pale pink |
| Areas |
From
Japan to Philippines |
| Depth |
200/300
metres |
| Characteristic |
It
is often mistaken and sold as “angel
skin”.
We don’t know if in good or bad faith.
It is ideal for a plain, “smooth” manufacturing. |
| Use |
It
gives beautiful litlle pale pink pearls
and cabochons |
Satsuma (“Cerasuolo”) |
|
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Scientific
name |
Corallium
Elatius |
Colour |
According
to the various qualities we can have
tones from heavy pink to lively red. |
Areas |
From
Japan to Philippines |
Depth |
200/300
metres |
Characteristic |
The
colour of japanese corals is not compact, therefore it is not
rare to find some branches beginning
with red to end with white. A further
peculiarity, found in all japanese
corals, is the white vein running in
every single branch of the bush from
the basis to the smallest end (we call
it “heart”) . This is not
a flaw, as it could seem: in fact it
helps telling true coral from false
it is from. |
Size |
Japanese
bushes mainly have fan-shaped branches.
Their average height is 30/40
cm and more or less the same width.
The weight of a bush is proportioned
to its size. The average weight is
around 2/3 kg. Very rarely it is possible
to find exceptional bushes 70/ 80 cm
high. |
Use |
Due
to its colour and morphology it is
perfect for cutting.
All statues, flowers
etc. are mainly made of this coral. It also gives beautiful cabochons, buttons, almonds, ear-drops,
which can be quite big thanks to the remarkable size of the branches.
They will often be recognizable by the white vein in the back part. |
Deep
Sea |
|
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Scientific
name |
Not
classified |
Colour |
All
tones, from pale pink to light red;
very shiny, glassy. |
Areas |
Hawaii |
Depth |
1000/2000
metres. Beautiful are the little pearls,
of 2 to 4 millimetres, of an homogeneous
pink. Being harvested between 1000
and 2ooo metres depth, it changes some
old beliefs that retained it was impossible
to find coral
at such depths. The huge quantities
harvested proved the contrary. |
Characteristic |
The
minimum size of bushes is 20 cm. Like
in all the coral types of the Pacific,
the bigger the branches are, the less
homogeneous the colours.Therefore it
is impossible to have a uniform cabochon
or little pearl bigger than 10mm. As
it is very glassy, it often shows crevices.
Another characteristic is that the polyps are on just one side
of the bush; this means that due to the depth, and the strength
od the streams, the little polyps search protection hiding behind
the branches of the coral colony. |
Use |
It
is used in all ways. |
Aka (Oxblood) |
|
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Scientific
name |
Corallium
laponicum |
Colour |
Lively
red to very dark red |
Areas |
Japan |
Depth |
200/300
metres |
Characteristic |
It
is very glassy, rich of flaws; it is
a coral type though in which when you
finally obtain a flawless piece, this
is of a unique beauty. It is one of
the most red (and expensive) coral
types. |
Use |
Since
it is very rich of flaws, especially
that presently harvested, you can hardly
obtain cabochons.It is very difficult
to realize a necklace with pearls of
the same colour. The case of a homogeneous
necklace is a masterpiece! |
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