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Coral Beads
By Sandy Paluzzi Polyps are sea animals. They make coral reefs. I have been blessed to have seen a coral reef. The shades of red were breathtaking. Other coral reefs are white, black and pink. The beads from these reefs have been prized for milleniums. Traditionally, the vast majority of coral has come from the Mediterranean Sea. Today, most coral is on the endangered list. It is illegal to harvest these reefs for beads and other purposes. Therefore, sea coral is rare. The coral typically sold today is Chinese bamboo coral. This coral is not rare or banned. However, it is usually white. Chinese bamboo coral is often dyed to make it pink, red, black or gold. It is also bleached to a true white. When Chinese bamboo corals are dyed with oils, the color is permanent and colorfast. When it is dyed with cheaper water based dyes, the colors are not permanent and may wear off on your skin. Sponge coral is also readily available. Like the name suggests, it has a more porous look than does traditional sea coral. However, all coral is soft and porous. You have to be careful not to clean it with most jewelry cleaners. The best way to clean coral is with warm water. While most coral is rare right now, that may change in the future. Today, the Waikiki aquarium is 'farming it' to sell to aquarians and the Florida aquarium is proposing doing the same with remnants from the Carribean coral reef. There are several small coral farms in the states, all targeted to aquarium coral. On the other side of the world, the Japanese are farming coral in an attempt to buoy a sinking island. Who knows, maybe someday we'll all be growing our own coral for beads.
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