Hi Stephen,
I think the exploiting of black coral in Hawaii is not an "old" industry. If you have come across some old black coral items, they are more likely to be Philippine and from the 1970s and later (assuming they are not Middle Eastern, and from the Red Sea/Mediterranean region and material).
Jamey
From: Marine Fisheries Review | Date: 3/22/1993 | Author: Grigg, Richard W.
Marine Fisheries Review
The precious coral fishery in Hawaii and the Western Pacific consists of one industry but two distinct and separate fisheries. The first is the harvest of black coral by scuba divers from depths of 30-100 m. The second is a fishery for pink and gold coral at depths between 400 and 1500 m and employs either a human-operated submersible that permits selective harvest or tangle net dredges which are nonselective. The modern history of these fisheries date from 1958 until the present. In this paper the ecology, life history, and management of the dominant species that make up these fisheries are reviewed Research needs of the fisheries and the economic and future prospects of the precious coral industry are also described. At the present, the precious coral jewelry industry in Hawaii (all species) is valued at about $25 million at the retail level
I didn't mean OLD as in antique, I meant vintage back stock. I think they are probably a decade old or a little more. They are a semi-matt black with flashes of orangish gold. I don't thing my crap camera would pick the colors up well. My best, Stephen Parfitt in Springfield, Illinois.
However, neither black nor gold coral should be characterized as "precious." This is a selling ploy. The pink coral might be "precious," but unless I see some examples, I'm not in any position to say.
I was recently given a necklace of "pink coral" to restring. My first impression was that it was more variegated than any pink coral I recall ever seeing. Looking at it through my loop, I am reasonably certain it is NOT coral, but rather is pink (mollusk) shell. I plan to scan these beads at high magnification to have an even better look at their structure.
Jamey
This is interesting, even if not the last word. JDA.
