Featured Coral necklace need help please

Hi folks,
I have a couple of coral necklaces and have wondered how to tell if the beads are dyed or they are genuinely red. For some I know for sure they are dyed as they leave a red trace on a cotton bud with acetone. They also have spots of white here and there.
But some does not do it. So I would like to have your help in identifying. Below is one of the necklaces - one of the beads has a whitish spot so probably this is a sign of being dyed but the rest look like natural to my untrained eye. The beads (or rather branches) are more orange than they appear on the pictures. It has a spring ring clasp. Thank you very much, as usual!


I would like to call @Any Jewelry as our coral expert here.

 

the ends of the branches look the same as the body of the branches....I say dyed

 

Thank you, Komo!
So should I assume that the ends of the branches should look with different color, if not dyed? l really want to learn how to distinguish.

 

They should. Always assume any bright red coral is dyed until proven otherwise, btw, even if someone swears it isn't.

 

I can't find a photo I trust ...

and some coral , undyed can have polished ends, but being a natural material the ends shouldn't have the exact same glaze as the body..

 

it gets dyed...and polished........

 

Thank you, Ruth, very helpful tip!
I agree, it is always reasonable to assume it is dyed, I just want to know the tips to distinguish. So now I know one more, thanks to you guys!

 

Thanks you so much, Komo! Yes, I can see the difference.

So is it possible to distinguish between naturally red coral with enhanced color and white bamboo coral which was dyed to become red? Or it is just the same appearance of both?

Tomorrow (now it is getting dark here already) I will post another example and will try to determine if it is naturally red or died. And you, guys, will be my examiners

 

Actually, I found a photo of the necklace I was going to use as a testing sample. Maybe not the best one as it is taken with a flash at artificial light but I will try now.

The branches are polished but as far as I can see, they differ in shade at the ends and on the body. Also they are orange rather than red. I would assume these are red Mediterranean coral branches. Now it is you turn, guys, to judge if I pass or fail.

 

I don't think there is any coral naturally red red. There is some red coral but I think it's on the Endangered list. Your necklace above looks like Mediterranean orange coral. It's Endangered and no longer harvested.

https://www.gia.edu/doc/Spring-2007-Gems-Gemology-Pink-Red-Coral-Guide-Determining-Origin-Color.pdf

 

Thanks, Ruth, very much appreciated! So I pass, very glad to hear it!

Yes, I know that Med coral is not harvested any more as its deposits have been depleted and the poor creatures are endangered to disappear completely. Unfortunately, also white bamboo coral will soon become endangered with the pace at which it is being exploited now.

My necklace is a vintage one, not harvested recently, I am not sure when it was created but I would guess somewhere between the two wars. You may correct me, if I am wrong.

I keep buying coral every time I come by it if the price is decent.

 

They are corallium rubrum, so technically Mediterranean red coral. This variety is called salmon coloured, not orange.

There is naturally red red coral, and not only in the Mediterranean.

 

Ruth, thank you for the informative link, I go to read now.

 

Oh, Any, so glad that you are here! Thank you so much for you expert opinion! Thanks for the correction, yes, salmon color is the right term.

I think what Ruth wanted to say was that natural red coral is so endangered that it is not being harvested any more. I also read about this. But here we talk about vintage items (or at least some of them are vintage) which were harvested decades ago.

 

I think with that particular barrel clasp, it was strung later. Who knows when the coral was harvested, but I'm used to seeing those barrels on things from the 70s.

 

Those barrel clasps are also on coral necklaces from the 30s.

 

Ruth, thanks for the correction, I always assume the dating according to historical circumstances here. According to them, Med coral is more likely to be brought here before 1944 but of course, it might also be from 70s and brought here from Italy or Spain, or some other capitalist country, although the probability of this is much lower. Which does not make it impossible, of course.

 

Thanks, Any, you have experience and deep knowledge about the jewelry itself, and you can judge based on it. I know that you also like the historical approach and use it in combination with the rest of factors but you don't have to. As I pointed above, as I have little experience and cannot date according to it, I use a different approach - historical. According to it, the necklace is most likely from between the wars. If it is supported also by your experience and knowledge, it becomes a primary theory for this necklace.

Very informative and fruitful discussion, thank you all, guys, for being so helpful as usual!

 

I agree.
In the late 1930s my mother was given two Med red branch coral necklaces with barrel clasps, just like your beauty above. Hers were two short necklaces though, which she used to wear together.
She had clip-on coral branch earrings to wear with them.

 

Oh, they must be a very beautiful set together, the necklaces and the clip-ons, and you Mom must have looked great with them!
I am looking for nice earrings to match that necklace but so far with no success. Actually it is quite seldom that old salmon coral is found here, mostly there are more modern Chinese dyed coral pieces.