Is black coral the new underwater favorite? A magical deep-sea treasure from 30 meters down with high medical value
Black coral handicrafts
Features, advantages, handling and care:
1. Not afraid of sweaty hands
Play with them every day with sweaty hands, the more you play the redder and more beautiful they become, and the patterns stay just as clear.
2. Not afraid of fakes
Black coral is the easiest to authenticate, just look with a magnifying glass, black coral is covered with ultra-fine pores, which are the breathing pores of black coral, and these cannot be faked.
3. Black coral Buddhist prayer beads are not afraid of being dropped
Black coral is tough in texture, and cannot be broken or shattered by dropping. No matter how beautiful bracelets of jade, crystal or jadeite are, they are still afraid of being knocked and dropped, which is also why the jade bracelet market has never been very successful. (However, carved handicrafts and cigarette holders should avoid being dropped as much as possible, especially finely carved openwork pieces.)
4. Not afraid of open flame
Black coral generally will not catch fire from an open flame, otherwise there would be no such thing as physical heat coloring.
5. Changes with handling
It will not stay unchanged with handling like jade; after handling, the color of black coral becomes redder and redder, and the patina that forms is more oily, translucent and lustrous than amber or agate, very beautiful.
6. A divine object that senses changes in the weather
Black coral also has a "barometer" function: before wind and rain arrive, the glossy surface layer of black coral products becomes dull and lusterless, and secretes a tiny amount of mucus, then returns to its original state when the weather clears.
7. High medicinal value
Marine scientists have conducted preliminary research on the structure, pharmacology and efficacy of black coral, and the results show that it contains no N element, has strong physiological activity and detoxifying effects, and also has good effects in lowering blood pressure, slowing heart rate, resisting arrhythmia, resisting spasms of blood vessels and the ileum, and improving hypoxia tolerance; it has anti-cancer properties, clears accumulated fire in the spleen and intestines, cools the spleen and promotes bowel movements, and has a particularly special effect on hemorrhoids. Therefore black coral has been known since ancient times as the "divine tree of the seabed."
8. Difficult to regenerate
It takes more than 500 years of growth to grow a main stem 2 cm in diameter, and its lifespan can reach as long as ten thousand years.
9. High density, sinks in water
Its density is as high as 1.3, and it sinks immediately when placed in water. A standard 2.0 bracelet weighs 66-68 g, which Hainan yellow rosewood and small-leaf red sandalwood cannot compare with.
10. Does not rot when soaked in water, does not damage when burned by fire
Black coral has the characteristics of "not rotting when soaked in water, not damaging when burned by fire," hence its honorific title "divine wood of the seabed." In 1958, an ancient Song Dynasty tomb was excavated near the site of the ancient Jinshi Xunjian Office in Guanluwei Village, Dongshan Island. Among the burial goods were found some intact burial items carved from black coral, such as bracelets and gongfu tea sets. According to historical records, these have a history of more than 1,000 years to date. This shows how astonishingly resistant to rot black coral is.
11. The price is still at a low point
Black coral is not afraid of being dropped, sweat, fire, fakes or rot; these are things not every stone or wood can achieve. For such a magical treasure, the price is certain to rise dozens of times in the future. Black coral resources are very scarce, existing only in temperate seas, and coupled with severe harvesting by people, it is on the verge of extinction in domestic waters. The world's current raw black coral inventory is less than 100 tons, and it is estimated that in another 3-5 years black coral resources will become severely scarce.
Where the value of black coral lies
Black coral, scientific name black horn coral, generally called black coral, inhabits the deep sea and looks like a tree. It is a treasure of the sea grown by coral polyps absorbing the essence of the ocean, one of the precious organic gemstones, and currently the only gemstone in the world that cannot be produced in a laboratory.
Scientists have found through research that deep-sea black coral is the oldest known coral species in the world, the oldest continuous living organism on Earth, and also the longest-lived organism in the world. Its radial growth rate is only about 4-35 micrometers per year (micrometer/millionth of a meter), which converts to needing at least 1,000 years for the main stem diameter to grow to 3.5 cm, and the lifespan of some individual colonies may already have reached 4,265 years.
Black coral texture and grain
The coral polyps attached to the black coral skeleton are very rich in color, including red, green, yellow and brown. The ectoderm can secrete chitinous skeletal enamel, and the body wall can secrete a gelatinous substance. The daily activities of the coral polyps differ, and the gelatinous substance they secrete also differs, so the state presented by each layer is different. Some layers appear dark red and semi-transparent, some layers appear light yellow and opaque, some appear dark, and some appear light, which is why black coral has such a variety of grains.
The grains of black coral are like miraculous workmanship, ever-changing. Each bead has a unique grain, and each bead is a famous landscape painting. Its color and grain are generally composed of brown, yellow and dark red, and its essence can be described in one word: "blood"!
Most black coral shows a large area of black with a small amount of yellow and brown. In fact, its black part is formed by layer upon layer of dark blood-red semi-transparent gelatinous substance stacked together, commonly known as "full blood grain." Coral skeletons formed by intricately stacked gelatinous layers of various colors present rich and varied grains such as flame mountain grain, blood eye grain, blood pool grain, thousand-layer blood grain, X-shaped grain, ghost face grain, ghost eye grain and landscape grain, and carry amber semi-transparent blood grains. Each bead is formed by the interweaving of multiple grains, and few people can resist being captivated by its stunning beauty.
However, among all black coral, material with rich grains is actually very rare and uncommon, accounting for less than 3%. It is not like Hainan yellow rosewood, where every bead has ghost face grain or tiger skin grain. One can imagine how precious a beautifully colorful fine black coral prayer bead is, and its future value will be immeasurable; perhaps Hainan yellow rosewood can only look up to it.
Can treat waist pain, eliminate bad breath, clear heat and detoxify, resolve phlegm and relieve cough, lower blood pressure, slow heart rate, resist arrhythmia, resist spasms of blood vessels and the ileum, and improve hypoxia tolerance; it has anti-cancer properties, clears accumulated fire in the spleen and intestines, cools the spleen and promotes bowel movements, and has a special effect on hemorrhoids. Besides its grains being intoxicating, black coral's texture makes it even more irresistible.
Black coral is formed by layer upon layer of gelatinous substance stacked without gaps. These skeletons are composed of discontinuous spicules, so the skeleton usually shows densely packed spines of 0.04-0.06 mm (its skeletal surface is covered with some tiny thorns), and the longitudinal section shows a concentric ring structure surrounding the original branch tube axis.
After black coral is carefully polished by craftsmen, the surface spines are polished very smooth. After handling and patina formation, it presents a glassy luster, warm and translucent, fine as jade. Because of black coral's special growth structure and thousands of years of skeletal deposition, it forms the tough texture of black coral just a few centimeters thick; one can imagine how great its density is.
The air-dry density of black coral is as high as 1.3, and it sinks immediately in water. After polishing, its surface has none of the pores unique to land woody materials such as Hainan yellow rosewood and red sandalwood, but is smooth and fine, with a moist, translucent glassy texture that no land woody material can compare with.
"Understanding Black Coral"
Black coral, scientific name black horn coral, generally called black coral, inhabits the deep sea and looks like a tree. It is a treasure of the sea grown by coral polyps absorbing the essence of the ocean, one of the precious organic gemstones, and currently the only gemstone in the world that cannot be produced in a laboratory. Scientists have found through research that deep-sea black coral is the oldest known coral species in the world, the oldest continuous living organism on Earth, and also the longest-lived organism in the world. Its radial growth rate is only about 4-35 micrometers per year (micrometer/millionth of a meter), which converts to needing at least 1,000 years for the main stem diameter to grow to 3.5 cm, and the lifespan of some individual colonies may already have reached 4,265 years.
Because of its warm, translucent, smooth-as-jade texture, rich and colorful markings, and dense, tough texture, black coral is much loved by people, and is especially one of the favorite raw materials of craft artists and carvers, who can make exquisite black coral cigarette holders, black coral prayer beads and black coral handicrafts. Black coral main stems with a diameter over 4 cm are relatively rare and uncommon; generally the material used to make prayer beads and handicrafts has a diameter of 1-3 cm. The thicker the material, the older it is and the more precious. Due to a large amount of illegal harvesting by people in recent years, black coral is on the verge of extinction. The current raw black coral inventory is also extremely scarce, and prices have soared over the past decade. Because black coral often contains attached oysters, shells, sand and stones, its effective utilization rate is only 20-30%, so a fine prayer bead or an excellent craft work appears even more precious. As black coral products gradually enter people's view, more and more people choose black coral products for collection and investment.
?Black coral made into cigarette holders has a strong adsorption effect on many harmful substances in cigarettes, purely naturally filtering tar and nicotine, and even without? using a filter device, it can maximize the reduction of intake of harmful substances.
Fine black coral cigarette holders, double filtration of tar, clear the lungs and cool the throat, clear heat and detoxify, and have a certain effect on hemorrhoids.
Wearing black coral bracelets brings good luck, averts disaster and wards off evil, and regulates blood pressure and heart rhythm. Black coral is rich in organic active ingredients and can absorb large amounts of elements harmful to the human body, calm the mind and soothe the nerves, provide health benefits, keep one safe, and serve as a fashionable collectible with great room for appreciation.
The article is provided and authorized for publication by the Ocean Culture Museum Fine Goods Store
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Address: Tanmen Town, Qionghai City, Hainan Province
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