Featured Real Coral or Fake?

Hello, I have this rosary which I purchased. Supposedly Italian origin. Wondering if this is real vs fake.


Thank you in advance.

 

looks real
looks dyed..

 

Thank you for your response. So I am assuming if I use acetone (nail polish remover) and scrub it really hard with nothing on qtip, then its real?

 

I honestly don't know what that would do, but it's rarely recommended. It's definitely real white coral. Someone in China (most likely) dyed it red. They're some sort of prayer beads but not a rosary. Those are Catholic beads strung in five groups of 10 with a single bead by itself between each group. A rosary also has a crucifix dangling from another set of 3 beads, and that hangs from what's known as a Miraculous Medal. This set looks Islamic or Buddhist.

 

Then it's not dyed.

 

Or it's better dye than it used to be. I've seen both explanations.

 

It is bamboo coral and it is dyed. Not all solvents work on all dyes. You can tell it's bamboo coral by the black nodes in between pieces. Coralliidae (red+pink coral) doesn't have that.

Pg. 17-27: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/ocea...NMF4630456_traffic_species_invertebrates9.pdf

I have a string of beads like these that was supposedly used as trade beads and was purchased at a pow-wow. If you really want to test them you should use acetone-free nail remover it's more effective.

 

Thank you everyone for you replies.

 

The black specks are a good point. I will for sure use a acetone free nail remover to check.

 

The beads look genuine, However this is not a rosary. A rosary is divided into sections, each section reminds the person to say a certain prayer, and in between are dollars vides single beads representing the stations of the cross. There is. Crucifix or cross at the base of the rosary.

 

Scrubbing doesn't work, it is best to hold it against the coral for ca 30 seconds.

It is a tasbeh or tesbih, Islamic prayer beads.
Some people translate tasbeh as rosary, but as you said there is a difference. The word rosary is connected with rose symbolism, which stands for the Virgin Mary.

 

Hi AJ,
I was always taught that rosary was named for the roses that they were first made from. I have my great aunts rosary that she made as a child. It is made from crushed rose petals.
greg

 

syed, I just looked at the prices of these coral tasbehs, I must say, the price alone is an indication that it isn't Italian (Mediterranean red) coral.

 

Hi Greg.
The first rosaries, or prayer ropes, were knotted cords. Later the knots were replaced by (precious) stones, prayer beads.
The rose connection came when St Dominic received the first real rosary from the Virgin Mary when she appeared to him in the early 13th century.

 

The rose petal ones do turn up every so often, usually at a crazy-sounding price. I got one not long ago. but it smells less of roses than old lady perfume.