Since ancient times, there are several types of coral used in jewelry; due to its beauty, its hardness and some properties that have been attributed to it over time, such as its ability to protect people from their enemies and bad energy vibrations.
Also, in the Middle Ages corals were used to protect the wearer against the evil eye; even King Ferdinand I of Naples, in the 18th century; he used a coral amulet, which he always wore in his attire; and it is said that he took it out and placed it on his face, when he suspected that someone had bad intentions with him; which nullified these negative vibrations.
This stone of organic origin belongs to the hexagonal crystalline family, with chrome and vanadium content, it is a cyclosilicate mineral, which appears in the oceans and seas; giving way to the formation of banks, atolls and reefs. Its hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale; makes it suitable for making quality jewelry; being its most common colors are red, white, pink, blue and black, but the dark red coral is the most valued along with blackalthough there is another variety that is also highly appreciated: a coral of soft pink tones that is known as «angel skin».
The different types of unworked coral are matte in color, and when polished, they acquire their characteristic shine. Three quarters of the world’s coral production is worked in Italy, and the rest in Japan..
One of the reasons why it is decreasing more and more in size is the great extraction of pink and red corals to make jewelry, and for the world art trade; noting that a few decades ago the average diameter was 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) and today it is two centimeters (0.8 inches); which represents a significant decrease.
In addition, of the red and pink types of coral, the most sought after in the world for making jewelry, is the gold coralwhich grows in very few places, including Alaska and Haiti. Likewise, we find the black coral, called “anthiparian”, which grow in shallow water and can even be harvested by divers; but not all are precious. These have been highly exploited over time, and for this reason, some countries have had to prohibit their export; because it hardly exists, which is why it has become one of the most expensive varieties.
We can also find bamboo coral, one of the types of coral of which not much is known, although they are more porous than others, and it is said that a good amount of red coral that is on the market, is actually bamboo coral, which is then had. Also, these types of coral are used in the field of orthopedics.
Blue coral, for its part, is the only one found on reefs in shallow waters.; and it is widely used in jewelry making, due to its beautiful color, which ranges from gray to blue, but its skeletons must be filled, because they are very porous; while sponge coral, are also used in jewelry, but must be dyed; and within them is apple coral, which are imported from Indonesia and Taiwan; and their color sometimes tends to be “natural reddish”, however, they are also dyed to improve color quality.
If we talk about the types of coral according to their shape, we find that in jewelry, round ones are used, which are symmetrical and roll in a straight line; the baroque ones, which have an irregular shape, the semi-round ones, which are not totally spherical, and the semi-baroque ones; which are pear, drop, button or oval, or all shapes that are not round, semi-round or baroque.
The different types of coral are used in the different collections of many jewelry designers, to promote them in each season; through very well made pieces such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and bracelets, with designs that give light to each style, and that will always be in fashion.
For the elaboration of jewels, the hard and limestone trunk of the coral skeleton is used., which is subjected to a rough or carved polishing process, to then perform a fine polishing, depending on the design and the garment to be made. When it comes to fine coral, it is usually recognized due to the observation of the cross section of the concentric layers of materials; and that when burned, a strong smell of burnt horn originates; which happens with almost all types of fine coral.
Nevertheless, the branches of the different types of coral are also used; that at the time of being collected they are called rough coral; which has a certain value, according to the variety and quality of the work that is done in the jewelry workshops; since in the process of machining, carving and polishing there are significant losses of raw material, which can be three quarters; therefore, even the gram of coral in jewelry has a higher value than gold.