| Original Message: Do these look alike to you? |
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You saved me the trouble of finding the tiger coral beads I bought in the early 1980s—since Robin's beads are virtually identical to mine. You write: "...the beads more resemble tiger coral then any other coral to my eyes...." My point is that the beads are NOT coral. "If they are tiger coral beads...[they] are highly polished and also coated with thick layer of lacquer is why there is no spongy surface." Tiger coral does not take a "high polish"—which, in part, is why they are lacquered. However, the lacquer is transparent, and the spongy surface is quite visible. Here are WenP's beads (left) and Robin's beads (right). While there is a certain similarity, they are far from identical. In particular, WenP's beads look like a mineral, or an imitation of a mineral. Robin's beads display the typical spongy visual texture of porous non-precious coral. I cannot suggest what WenP's beads may be, if they are not either a mineral or an imitation of a mineral (such as glass or plastic). I think a hardness test might help. I expect that had I had them in front of me there would be no (or few) questions about their being coral. And I repeat, if they ARE coral, it is a variety with which I am not presently familiar—after having studied and collected coral since 1972. In any event, not any tiger coral, as I know that material. Jamey All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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