Featured Coral or maybe not!

The ring I’m very pleased with. I bought it without my glasses and fortunately it’s got beautiful coral striations through it. It’s marked 800- European? does that 800 date it?
The necklace I’m really not convinced. I bought it as coral but I’m thinking it’s glass. There are some swirls and ethereal striations that you catch a glimpse of but as soon as you try to focus on them they aren’t there!.
They are very shiny with a cheap clasp. Do the cracks tell me anything ie, does coral crack like that as they look like glass cracks to me!
Sold as coral so if not I’ll return. It’s a devil to photograph but I’ve done my best!
I know you can’t be sure but I’d love your thoughts . Thankyou

 

Did you check them with your gem tester, it should tell you if the beads are glass or stone. And if you get quartz when testing the ring I would guess carnelian, JMHO

 

The ring could be coral, although, if so, probably heavily dyed. Color does not seem right for carnelian to me.

Agree with your observation that the beads have cracked in a way that is not characteristic of coral. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing coral that has cracked. If a coral cameo has fairly high relief, bits that stick up above the rest can get knocked off, but I never see a piece with crazing or a crack running through it. Color is reasonable for coral, but think you are correct: beads are glass.

 

Unfortunately, I own cracked coral beaded pieces. I does dry out, and it is fragile.

 

Thankyou. Mary Contrary gem tester is currently on her way back to the seller. She became more and more Contrary so I'm waiting for a replacement.
The ring is definitely coral not carnelian I'm sure as it has the striations.
Thankyou for confirming my suspicions about the cracks.

 

But... vintage glass coral beads are done very well. I have a few necklaces that even include natural "blemishes" in the glass beads to make it look like coral. But looking at your beads, I am thinking coral, not glass. Are they very uniform in size? What do the holes in the beads look like? Are they rough on your teeth? Coral will be slightly rough, gritty, like pearls, but not as much so. I would never do the lemon juice test.

 

Marko, in the photo, I can't make out any cracks or crazing. Could you describe what you see? Think your beads may be a different type of coral, not the red coral (angel skin is just anemic red coral) we see most of the time. I don't own any coral quite comparable for size & shape, but some things are 100+ years old & none of developed the sort of damage we see sometimes with helmet shell cameos.

I 'tooth test' all sorts of materials when trying to distinguish natural from fake, not just pearls. Polished coral can be quite smooth, so good to compare with something you know is glass.

 

I have done before and seen lots of little bubbles. This time nothing, I think they are glass. I just wash it off very quickly!.

 

You are right to be pleased with the ring. It is German, ca 1930-1950, and very nice quality. The coral is Mediterranean red coral, and most likely natural.
Yes, Med red can be that red naturally, and a lot of it is.
There is a coral seller in Italy who bleaches red coral especially for the Dutch market, so it resembles antique coral which has turned a salmon colour over the years, which is what we prefer. It is sold as 'Old Dutch' colour coral.

The beads are glass, very pretty though. Those were sold a lot in the 1970s.

 

Still a lovely necklace, Marko. You can combat drying out by gently wiping them with a soft cloth with a drop of olive oil, or other suitable vegetable oil. I use rice bran oil, because it is thinner and even more 'gentle' on the stones.

Your necklace is some kind of Pacific coral. Possibly apple coral. The red on Pacific corals is different from Mediterranean red, often slightly more coppery.

 

Thankyou for confirming my suspicions. I will send it back. Pretty as it is, it's too expensive for 1970s glass!.
Is it the 800 that tells you the ring is German or the style?. Glad it's not that spiny oyster as that did cross my mind after I confidently said I was sure it was coral!.

 

@Any Jewelry , can you tell me if this type of coral has a name please?. Mainly white with pink highlights!
Thankyou

 

The cracks in the corals I have look like hairline cracks, but on some, it appears the crack goes all the way around the bead. The coral I posted has a 14k gold clasp, I thought it may be some type of angelskin.... I have seen similar ones listed as such. I am loathe to oil anything.... I tried it with a cameo and didn't like the results. Someday all this stuff will be sold as is. I did get fooled today with thrift shop pearls. I really couldn't tooth test them, and they looked really good, not uniformly shaped, knotted, one clasp was marked SILVER..... oh well, the money went to charity and I do like the pearls.

 

I really struggle with pearls too. Even if knotted they can be glass. I only buy they if they have a lovely clasp and are cheap enough.

 

The style first. The 800 means it is limited to very few countries, of which only Germany made that style. Germans still love this style, and rightly so.

Some would call it white and some would call it angelskin, since it has the pink bits.

 

The white on angelskin is whiter and it doesn't have those salmon highlights. I still think Pacific, not Mediterranean.

 

Question AJ as you know I sit in awe of your knowledge but I’ve been told to never use olive oil to combat dryness as it’s an oil that will go rancid with time. It probably won’t harm the stone but the odor will remain. Recently had this conversation regarding preColumbian jade beads and was told to use almond or coconut oil but never olive.

 

I have used mineral oil with success

 

Hi,
I have seen many suggestions to use a lot of different oils but the only one I know that doesn't go rancid or smelly is mineral oil as suggested by Marie Forjan. I use it for jewelry, stone, pottery. For painted surfaces I always clean and use expensive shoe polish which is carnauba wax. It is all reversible and safe for surfaces.
greg

 

It's okay about the pearls. The universe smiled upon me for giving the money to charity and I will redonate the pearls. Posting in finds thread.