Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:06 am Posts: 418 Location: uk
Empress Maybe not conch shells, but probably other types of fossil gastropads? In Simojovel Chiapas they find meny different types of fossil shells along with the amber
High end Tibetan corals are from Italy, Japan, Taiwan and the Mediterranean. Tibet is landlocked and the Tibetans considered gems from the ocean exotic and the coral is highly prized. Specifically oxblood color that are round and without blemish. Traditionally Tibetans bought their coral from traders in Nepal, India, china, Taiwan and Afghanistan. Like in any other place, the Tibetan market has been infiltrated by dyed corals that are brought in from China. So you need to know something about coral to distinguish the natural from the dyed. Some dyed ones are sought after because of their antique nature. But again there you have to be careful because unscrupulous people put stuff through smog to make them look antique. Tibetans buy their corals from traders with good reputation. If you are looking for the ones that are worth thousands of dollars you need to either know the goods or take someone with you who knows. Don't take the seller's word when they swear it's natural and non dyed. Some times they are lying and other times they themselves had been lied to by whoever sold it to them.
At the image October show 2013 in Tokyo, I acquired from a wholesale coral dealer, 3 kinds of red coral, cabochons of corals from the Mediterranean, corallium rubicum, and the Japanese momo coral,corallium elatius and the deep red corallium japanicus. By far the best quality is the corallium japanicus, it costs more than 5 times the price of the Mediterranean coral,and the corallium elatius is 2 and a half times the price of the corallium rubicum from the Mediterranean, but half the price of the corallium japanicus. All 3 corals are really beautiful, but the quality and color of the Japanese coral is unmatched,
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:55 am Posts: 236 Location: Paris - France
gemart66: very interesting observation! Can you show us a photo where the 3 kinds of coral are together to compare them visually? Could be interesting...
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum