Coral

Coral is an organic gem secreted by coral polyps, which are similar to sea anemones and jellyfish in their bodily structure and living habits. Often wrongly thought of as an internal skeleton akin to the bones of our bodies, coral is better described as scaffolding on top of which the boneless polyps live  as a colony.

White, pink and red coral is found in shallow subtropical waters in the Western Mediterranean and the Malay and Japanese seas. Black and golden coral is harvested off the Malaysian archipelago, the coastline of northern Australia, in the Red Sea and the Hawaiian islands.  It is the red and pink varieties that are most commonly used in jewellery. Coral is formed as relatively small branching colonies attached to the sea floor and does not generally occur in large reefs.

Coral is most commonly fashioned into cabochons, beads, earring drops, cameos and carvings.

View Coral Jewellery at Astley Clarke