Hi - my mother and I purchased similar coral necklaces in ABQ (directly from a Native - Santo Domingo Pueblo). She said that she inherited the coral from her mother and that it’s over 50 years old. We’ve tried to find/get additional information on the coral but the information we are getting is all over the place (it’s either “rare” or “easy to find”; estimates on pricing are very hard to come by). I’d love any information that someone here can provide. Thank you.
By the photo, your coral looks to be natural red Mediterranean coral. The porous nature makes it unsuitable for traditional bezel setting in jewelry so someone made good use of it as a necklace.
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It reminds me of a chile ristra 
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Wow, if it’s real it’s worth many thousand bucks.
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I have verified with 2 separate Native jewelry appraisers (one has been in business and appraising jewelry for 40 years) that it is, in fact, authentic/real.
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Since you had two Navajo jewelry appraisers look at this already, can you share their evaluation?
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Hi ~ I honestly don’t have any info to offer about your nice turquoise & coral necklace. But, you mention that you had it verified with 2 Native jewelry appraisers. I’m curious ~ what information did these 2 appraisers provide to you about the necklace? Did you ask them any specific questions, i.e., age, type of coral? I haven’t used an appraiser before so I’m curious about the process. Thanks.
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Similar posts - we must’ve been typing at the same time, lol.
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Hi - I was getting other jewelry formally appraised and happened to have the necklaces with me (but I didn’t want to pay the $100/$150 just yet as I felt like I was getting very different information about the necklace). One appraiser (younger, manager or owner of a store in Santa Fe said he’d never seen a similar necklace, that it was very rare and that he thought it was worth a lot (no specific number given). The more experienced appraiser said the coral is “easy to find” but he did not give any specific numbers. Both appraisers agreed that it was Mediterranean coral (and no longer legal to “harvest”).
How the process worked for the other jewelry that I had appraised (I was given verbal numbers/appraisals before I agreed to the more formal process) is:
I showed the jewelry to the appraiser
Asked what type of turqoise they thought it was
Potential age of the piece
And, I asked if they thought it was worth it to appraise that specific jewelry (one was vintage Morenci squash blossom and the other was a beautiful vintage squash with U.S. Morgan silver dollars from the late 1800’s).
Hope that helps.
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@COnative Thank you for taking the time to provide this additional information.
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There was no formal evaluation. Just a couple of quick comments - 1 said it was very rare and that he’d never seen anything like it. The other said that the coral is “easy to find”. Both agreed the coral was very old and confirmed that it was real Mediterranean coral.
Maybe the coral is old, but the findings on the necklace look newish.
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Yes, that’s the way it appears to me as well. Really just looking for information on whether it’s “rare” or “easy to find” - no one has been able to confirm either way for me.
Yeah, I really have no clue. Seems like when you Google it, natural Mediterranean red coral is “rare,” but I don’t know exactly what that means. I’m assuming coral that’s real but dyed would be less valuable and more common. So maybe that’s why you’re getting different opinions from different appraisers. But I don’t know much about coral.
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Maybe try the people at “The Traderoots Collection”? I think coral is one of their specialties, and their website mentions appraisals.
fwiw i myself am trying to learn to be able to distinguish the differences between antique Italian and Moroccan/Algerian red coral. I believe it’s all Mediterranean coral and looks more or less the same imo, but there seem to be big differences in availability and value.
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Like others, I’ll hasten to add that I’m not an expert on this stuff, but here’s another two cents for the pile:
- It looks like Mediterranean coral of good color and density, although this is difficult (as in, beyond my ability) to assess definitively from a single photograph. There is at least one nubby piece with less calcification that is, as I understand it, particularly difficult to source because it is better suited for slicing, shaping, and bezel setting without breakage and while retaining the “organic” appearance of the coral, while producing less waste in the process, than more slender/eroded material. Here is the piece I am referring to, circled:
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Regarding “rarity,” I think this rather breaks down into two separate conversations (and is probably why you’ve received divergent opinions on how “easy to find” it is). The first is whether the material itself is rare and the second is whether the assemblage—the necklace—is rare. Many cultures beyond the American Southwest value this coral very much and it is commonly used in jewelry traditions throughout the Maghreb/Sahara (Amazigh/Berber and the related Tuareg peoples), the Arab world, Southern Europe, Central Asia, Tibet, and elsewhere. This necklace does not—to my eye, and remember that I am not an appraiser—appear to suggest an extraordinary age. So, I’d be inclined to accept that the necklace is not “rare,” per se. As for the material itself (if Mediterranean coral, it is A LOT of it), it has become increasingly difficult to source: its harvest, as others have pointed out, is heavily regulated (though not outright banned in the same way that, say, ivory is). But “difficult to source” isn’t exactly the same thing as “rarity,” per se, and like “value” the idea of “rarity” is extraordinarily relative, even when formally appraised. Assigning value relies on comparison to known quantities: sales, ranges, documentation; rarity is trickier and thus less immediately useful—for this reason, responsible appraisers, art historians, and dealers would most likely use it to describe rather than predicate.
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One thing that might be helpful for assessing age or quality (and possibly origin) is a close examination of how the coral is strung: Are holes drilled? If so—are they ragged or clean, is there discoloration around them? If not drilled, is the string threaded through natural cavities in the coral or is it knotted around the branches? For assessing rarity—which is to say, really, availability—this type of information will be important: much of this material’s “rarity” is based as much on condition or provenance as on appearance or (importantly, for coral branch) size/scale.
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I highly second @Bluegreen suggesting TradeRoots. They have the best stock of coral I’ve ever seen and the owner (and I think his daughter, but I might be misremembering) has years and years of experience handling it. Visiting (if you can) would help—even if just by way of seeing a lot of the material at once, in person, to compare with yours.
Summary: Mediterranean coral is “rare” and fairly valuable, but whether or not the necklace is more rare or more valuable than its components is a trickier conversation given that it doesn’t suggest great age or a clear cultural connection to any major coral jewelry producing group, like those in the American Southwest, the Sahara, or Tibet. I would investigate the occurrence or valuations of large lots of quality Mediterranean coral before trying to find a comp for the necklace itself. @Ziacat seems dead right about the findings: those alone would seem to give away that the necklace is less rare/remarkable than the coral itself.
Good luck!
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Very informative…thank you. I will have to research how coral is regulated. I didn’t know that. I wonder if spiny is regulated too. Just found this good article on red coral… https://earthjournalism.net/stories/the-secretive-red-coral-trade-in-the-mediterranean-sea-the-hunt-for-red-gold
Just received these earrings I bought for $14. Lucky for me they didn’t take the time to tell us about the hallmark….Carlos Diaz. These shops should get better people to post these items….but I’m happy with their lack of descriptions and poor photos. All the info I learned here has helped me discern nice items. Thanks.
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You got a really nice deal on those. I love when sellers do half way research and presentation and you benefit. The coral Patania necklace that I just bought was a very similar situation. I’m very grateful because otherwise I would’ve been able to afford it. Enjoy your beautiful new earrings.
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Thanks @Islandmomma ! congrats on your great deal of Patania’s necklace. Here’s to all the bargain hunters…may you continue to find good deals on jewelry you love.
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I came across this internet site that sells great looking Navajo jewelry by some top artists. They have businesses in many areas of the country and also one called HARPO in Paris. Is that the one you go to? https://www.bonecutters.com/
Ooops…I see we just talked about HARPO. Sorry…not paying enough attention.
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