Coral Graduated Strand English Antique. 1880s to 1890s. A particularly nice strand, lovely strong pink gemstone colour and well matched. Bead size graduated from 8.5mm centre, to 6mm at the 9ct Gold clasp, a good size, quite a bit larger, really, than the usual such strand. (That last written is a touch misleading, for these Victorian gemstone Coral strands can not in any way be called “usual”; they are increasingly hard to source, period, be they of small size beads or larger.)
Coral is an organic gemstone, not crystalline. Not all Coral is gemstone Coral; gemstone Coral is particular: it is of a more dense internal structure than “garden variety” coral, making it suitable for cutting, for carving, and for taking a high polish; and it is always in a colour range from quite light pink to blood-red. There are few, and there have always been few, sources for true gemstone Coral. One major source of this gemstone is the Mediterranean Sea, the origin of the Coral in the above strand; the Mediterranean source supplied the Victorian demand for this treasured gemstone.