Precious coral

The ocean is host to a variety and quantity of inorganic raw materials equal to or surpassiag the resources of these materials available on land. Inorganic raw materials are defined here as any mineral deposit found ia the marine environment. The mineral resources are classified generally as iadustrial minerals, mineral sands, phosphorites, metalliferous oxides, metalliferous sulfides, and dissolved minerals and iaclude geothermal resources, precious corals, and some algae. The resources are mosdy unconsoHdated, consoHdated, or fluid materials which are chemically enriched ia certain elements and are found ia or upon the seabeds of the continental shelves and ocean basias. These may be classified according to the environment and form ia which they occur (Table 1) and with few exceptions are similar to traditional mineral deposits on land. 

Precious Corals. One important deep seabed resource having worldwide distribution is precious coral. The industry extends worldwide, but the richest beds... 

Decorative coral is usually one of the hard corals. They are described by color, rather than by species, and live in tropical and temperate seas. The traditional orange or red precious coral is native to the Mediterranean and has been severely over-collected for hundreds of years. Most red coral on today s market is dyed coral from the Pacific Ocean. Black coral is a branching, tropical type that is also rare. There are a number of corals that are collected and sold today as black coral, but it is often merely dark-colored coral that has been dyed black. 

Many years ago the term coral was generally regarded by the jewellery trade as applying to only one species, which was called precious coral. It was red in colour, and took a very high polish. Today there are many gem-type corals on the market, and they come in a variety of colours and textures. Occasionally types of coral that have previously been unused also appear on the market. 

As with precious corals, unpolished bamboo corals have a parallel longitudinal ridged pattern on the surfiice of the calcareous sections. At about 1 millimetre apart, they are much coarser than those of precious corals (Figs 11.11 and 11.12). 

Precious coral Cold Concentric rings in cobweb pattern, and longitudinal sttiations See structure Rigid Pale colours chalky-white... 

Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. A coral colony consists of individual polyps within a protective skeleton that they secrete this skeleton maybe soft and jelly-like, horny, or stony. The homy skeleton secreted by corals of the genus Comllium, especially C. rubrum, constitutes the red, or precious, coral used as a gemstone. The skeleton of stony, or true, corals consists of almost pure calcium carbonate and forms the coral reefs common in tropical seas. 

Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Philippines, the Ryuku and Bonin islands and south of Japan. There is also a string of precious red and pink coral beds northwest of Hawaii and off the Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic Ocean off west Africa. A submersible vessel, the Star II, operated by Maui Divers of Hawaii, Ltd., is used io harvest pink coral (CoraUium secundum) from the Makapuu bed. State regulations permit the collection of only 4400 pounds (1996 kilograms) within a 2-year period. 

NITRIALES — Whatever Calcines and Bums, as Sulphur, Saltpetre, whereby one calcines Pearls, Precious Stones, and Corals into a Saltpetre. 

Netsuke - toggles worn on the clothit gre probably the best known Japanese carved items. Also made were pres, seals, and boxes. Later many of the items produced were made specifically for export to the west (Fig, 3.18). As in India, ivory in Japan has also been used as a background and inlaid with other precious nutterials such as coral and tortoiseshell. They called the style Shibayama, after the man who was a master of the craft. 

Thirdly, according to what is written this medicine changes all stones into precious ones, as in jasper. White and Red Coral, Emerald, Chrysolite, Sapphires, fnrther Crystals into Garnets, Rnbies and Topazes, which are much more powerful than the natnral ones. It softens and fuses all base and precious stones. 

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