Vintage ANGEL SKIN CORAL orders Precious Pink Barrel Bead 19x12 mm 4.5 grams cor12

Precious coral - vintage genuine UNDYED pink angel skin coral bead that we purchased in Taiwan in 1984 ! The color is superb as you can see in the photos and it has a wonderful even polish. I've rotated the bead in each photo to show you the bead from different angles.

➤ Please note: Coral is the hard skeleton created by tiny marine organisms known as "coral polyps". The " construction process " varies greatly with time and local conditions and is therefore very irregular. This results in lack of homogeneity in the skeleton that takes the form of small pits and fissures. These pits and fissures are not imperfections but rather part of the growth process . These are always present and do not affect the structural integrity of the material. You may see examples of such fissures in the photos.

Corals live in warm water oceans all over the world,and their habitat has been steadily disappearing because of human water pollution and over fishing.Since coral collection and mining was banned worldwide in 1992, it is very difficult to find such beads as these in the bead trade! The U.S also currently has a ban on importing corals . We do have the documentation to show that these beads were purchased by us in 1984.

Next to red (oxblood)and dark orange, angel skin( pink and white ) is the most desired and most valuable. Increasing popularity and decreasing supply has driven up coral prices dramatically in the last few years.

Fine quality angel skin coral like this is virtually unobtainable and well carved and polished beads such as this are extremely scarce if even available - you will not find beads such as these at your local gem show!
As with faceted gems, fine coral like this is sold by weight.

➤ I guarantee this bead which is approximately 19mm x 12mm to be genuine angel skin coral that is UNDYED, natural and vintage from 1984 - it weighs 4.5 grams.
There are 25mm to the inch so this stunning vintage collectible bead is approx. 3/4" long and TOP quality.

I sold angel skin coral beads such as these through the Smithsonian Institution's museum shop and catalog during the 1980's and they were also featured in trunk shows at Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue during this same orders time period.
You can read more about my career as a jewelry designer in my profile page!