Pink Coral Carved Turtle, natural,Vintage. 21x13x8mm. b4-cor473

 Cute pink coral hand carved turtles. Natural precious coral, circa 1970's. These have a small drilled hole under on the bottom of the neck so a up-eye could be glued in to suspend the turtle on a piece of jewelry, or it could be used as a cabochon, as the hole would not be visible. The turtles measure approximately 21x13x8, but vary a bit as they are hand made. 1.5 to 2 grams each.

Precious corals are light pink, to salmon, and even blood red. Coral has a long history of being used as jewelry, and can be found along any of the ancient trade routes around the world. Precious corals have a hard skeleton which is a fine gem material with a lustrous polish. There are over 7,300 species of corals, including the reef building corals living in shallow warm waters. The 'precious corals' used in jewelry are restricted to approximately 10 species that do not live in the same ecosystem as reef building corals. Reef corals that are currently suffering from climate change are not traditionally used in jewelry at all! The harvest of precious corals is strictly monitored and regulated.