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Post by fernwood on Sept 17, 2021 7:05:15 GMT -5
The black coral passed the acetone test, so it is not dyed. It passed the teeth test. It has a similar appearance to some natural, red coral I have. I am still not convinced. The coral was in a bunch of rocks/fossils I was given by a friend. Everything was collected/purchased by her parents in the 1980’s to early 2000’s. Unfortunately, these were two of the few bags not labeled. There are two bags of it. If I would combine them, it would be a full, sandwich size zip lock bag. Thousands of pieces. Are there any other tests I should do? Below is a photo of a representative sample, a few of the larger ones that show typical coral characteristics and some close ups. One of the photos shows a bend and flow pattern in a piece. I would associate those with glass, but I don’t think this is glass. I have not looked through all the pieces under magnification yet. Did a lot of research if it is illegal to sell pieces of black coral or jewelry that contains it. I saw a lot for sale. Found a few places that said it was illegal to use or sell anything with natural black coral, regardless of when it as obtained/made. Other places that said if it was legally obtained at the time, it was fine. Any help appreciated.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 17, 2021 9:28:25 GMT -5
From what I've read, under CITES harvesting black coral is banned, but it can still be sold but not across international lines.
Here's a link to a book on CITES to identify corals. It's downloadable as a PDF.
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Post by MsAli on Sept 17, 2021 13:33:05 GMT -5
I have some pieces that were gifted to me and it has very straight lines, very, very light and pourus. It looks like coral
From the pictures you have, it doesn't look like what I have at all
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Sept 17, 2021 13:47:12 GMT -5
Cut a few cross sections and look at it with a hand lens. Coral has a very distinctive internal structure that can even be used to identify the type of coral. That much real black coral would have cost a ton of money. Back in the 1970s they used small submarines to collect the material because it was found below the sport diving limits. Almost forgot once you cut give it the old acid to see if it is even calcium carbonate.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,175
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 17, 2021 23:31:52 GMT -5
Beth, here's some photos of genuine black coral to compare with. If you have a documented trail of provenance you are gtg for selling it.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,175
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Post by RWA3006 on Sept 17, 2021 23:32:15 GMT -5
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Post by fernwood on Sept 18, 2021 4:25:09 GMT -5
RWA3006 Thank you very much. I like the pieces showing the insides. I am going to use my magnifier and loupe today to check them put further. There were a couple larger, broken pieces in the bag, so maybe they will provide a clue.
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Post by MsAli on Sept 18, 2021 6:33:18 GMT -5
This is exactly what mine looks like
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Post by fernwood on Sept 21, 2021 4:13:50 GMT -5
Still trying to determine if these are black coral, or something else. Having trouble getting photos that show the details. These are mostly highly polished and very thin. Many are 1mm wide. I compared them to the natural red coral in a necklace I made in the 1980’s. Many are the same. Found some more, larger pieces of the black ones. I could not get photos in focus of the ends. The larger one is natural. The smaller one is broken and has some white dots. Very glossy. Included a group shot of some other, smaller ones. They do look similar to the ones posted by RWA3006 , but do not have areas of tan. Thank you.
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