Red and pink coral jewelry and their history

Coral reefs, coral islands ... How are these fabulous creatures of nature formed?

The ancient Greeks considered pink coral a symbol of immortality and happiness, and in the Middle Ages it was credited with the gift of wisdom and healing properties - it stops blood, reduces fever ... In Greek mythology, it is said that once the fearless Perseus flew over the sea with his head severed Medusa Gorgon, and in those places where drops of blood fell into the water, red corals - gorgonians - grew.

Corals are one of the favorite adornments of women since antiquity. Coral decorations have been found in Wildsheyer Cave dating back to the Paleolithic era. There are finds found on the territory of the Sumerian state about 6,000 years old. But these are decorations, and the corals themselves are representatives of the first organisms on earth that have existed on the planet for more than 500 million years.

Corals live in warm seas, where the average annual temperature is 13-16? C at a depth of 3-300m. Corals contain 85% calcite, small amounts of magnesium carbonate and oxides of iron, manganese and other impurities, as well as about 1% organic matter. Their density is from 2.6 to 2.7; hardness about 3.75 on the Mohs scale. Black Indian corals are lighter, their density is 1.32 - 1.35, and they are almost entirely composed of organic matter.

Corals form treelike structures with branches about 4-6mm in diameter. In the most favorable conditions, corals grow no more than 1 cm per year. It will take centuries for a medium-sized coral reef to develop, and it will take millennia to create a coral island. Coral buildings can be found off the coast of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Italy, the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica.

Black corals are mined in India and China. In the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of Japan, noble corals live from the order of gorgonians. These are coral jewels - red, dark red, pink, black. And the precious Hawaiian "golden" coral has a rare golden color. Beads, brooches, pendants and cabochon inserts for rings are made from it. These are rare expensive jewelry. But the most beloved among women is still red coral, it is not for nothing that the lips of beauties are often compared in poetry with corals.

More than 3500 coral species and up to 350 color shades are known in nature. More often found are pink, flesh-pink - "Angel's skin", pale pink, hot pink, yellowish pink, salmon and salmon colors, red, dark red, white. Black coral is prized. In addition to corals with natural colors, artificially colored ones are used in the creation of jewelry.

The increasing popularity of coral products means that corals are destroyed faster than they grow. Therefore, in some seas, coral fishing is limited and is only allowed under a license. In some countries, the export of corals outside the state is prohibited.

Corals are highly valued by jewelers - various decorations are made from corals - beads, brooches, rings, necklaces, rosary, gems. Crosses and other church items are also inlaid with corals, and coral souvenirs are also made. The most valuable part is considered to be the top of the coral branches.

In costume jewelry, horns and bones of animals, gypsum, glass, plastics, and rubber are used as imitation of corals. The most important diagnostic feature of natural corals is the reaction with hydrochloric acid, the presence of a zonal or reticular pattern, as well as a special granular structure.

A method has been developed for obtaining artificial corals - red, light pink, pale yellow, white, dark red, salmon, flesh pink, champagne. But they do not have the mesh pattern typical of natural corals.

Artificial coral jewelry will not be as expensive as natural coral jewelry, but it will also exude beauty and perfection. And this is possible thanks to the skill of human hands.