Featured Eye Candies for coral people…

One of my black coral necklaces. An antique one from Hadramaut, Yemen, the coral beads are inlaid with silver and alternated with silver cage beads.
Not the best photo, but you get an idea:

 

Wow, WOW!!!

 

I was stumped to have found it, but for sure not much people know about it here in France

 

Thanks.
I found a close up pic (took these years ago, didn't remember I had this.). You can see that the structure is the same as your beads:

 

very interesting technique, reminds me of
Piqué work!

 

a lovely collection....... keep after the black ones.... they will surely appear !!!

 

and orange ones, pink ones, light orange ones, pale pink ones…

 

if the quality is good, nab it . Nice job!

 

This is ~6 3/4" long, ~2 1/2" across the lobed end, ~1 1/8" branch diameter; it weighs ~356 grams (~12 1/2 oz). Family history is that it was purchased in either Italy or Spain in the mid 1960's by Mom's sister.
I cannot tell if it is dyed, nor can I say anything of substance about it except I presume it to be Mediterranean coral.
Can any of you see enough to better define it? Thanks!

 

It does look like dyed bamboo coral to me, the undyed crack across the whole thing, and the pale pink spot on the cross section and overall, it has a suspicious purplish tone in that way-too-intense red.

 

ya, that red on the inside and ends....is just too red !

 

I would expect something like this as a Mediterranean coral branch. Note that line of growth comparing to the fingerprints. The color should be consistent and even, and more like orange-red. What’s more, Mediterranean coral thick like that would be very, very rare
Awww, isn’t it beautiful?

 

Ditto.
Contrary to Mediterranean red coral, which is precious, bamboo coral is a non-precious deep sea (ocean) coral. It doesn't grow in the Mediterranean. Yours could be from China.

 

China has a long history of refining techniques for imitation corals since it’s highly valued yet rarely found. You can even find those imitations among royal objects. The dyed bamboo coral is easy to spot, the glass bead imitations, however, is deadly to new collectors

 

Dyed bamboo coral chunk beads are easy to spot. They're becoming collectible in their own right here.

 

I guess so, many of them have become antiques by their own right

 

It does tend to happen, sooner or later.

 

Ahh...so this blood-red monster is worth megabucks?
Damn sweet news, if true...Thanks for the Hope!

 

Sorry but no, as I and AJ said that’s a dyed bamboo coral, not a precious one, I doubt if it even worth more than that coin for size comparison

 

Shamster, your collection is amazing! I've never seen so many coral pieces of such variety in one place! And I'm quite intrigued by the black coral that AJ and Kyratango shared. They would have taken me by surprise if found at a shop!