Coral Gem, Tibetan Amber, Lapis Lazuli & Silver earrings. Most gemstones are crystalline, having a particular crystal structure. None of the three gemstones in the above earrings are crystalline; the Coral and Amber are classified as organic, Coral being a marine plant and Amber the fossilized resin of a now extinct type of pine tree; and Lapis Lazuli is classified as a rock, one of only two rocks in the gemstone world, the other being Turquoise.
The “butterscotch” Amber beads in the above are old Tibetan beads, taken from an old bead strand; the lovely orange-red Corals are also old, native-cut beads from Sth India; neither has its origin in Tibet, the Coral being Mediterranean, the Amber Baltic, but both gained favour in Tibet through the appeal of their colours when combined with Turquoise, the other gemstone rock, which has been mined in western Tibet since antiquity.