| CORAL- Calcium carbonate in the form of calcite is the main constituent of calcareous corals; minor constituents are magnesium carbonate and proteinaceous organic substances, which act as binding agents. A horny, proteinaceous substance whose composition varies according to the species is, on the coral used since antiquity as an ornamental material comes from the calcareous skeletons of colonies of marine organisms of the phylum Cnidaria, order Corgonacea, genus Corallium. The most famous of these organisms is Corallium rubrum, which lives in the waters of the Mediterranean and, despite its name, provides not only red, but also orange, pink and white coral. The skeletons of corals are vary in color: from bright to dark red, slightly orange-red, pink, and white; red to orange pink with areas of white, and from medium to deep pink, sometimes with alternate, concentric layers of lighter and darker color and a whitish portion. Characteristic features are differences in translucency. Sometimes coral has a different-colored marrow or medulla, or an axial canal. Coral was believed to be a vegetable, a type of small, submarine tree. In all cases, coral consists of the branching skeletons of animals, which live in colonies planted on the seabed at depths varying from tens to hundreds of meters. They are typical of warmish to very warm seas. Banks of coral are found in the Mediterranean, along the coasts of China, Vietnam, and Japan; near the Philippines, along some of the many pacific archipelagos; and along parts of the African coastline. Coral colonies occupy large areas especially in the Pacific, but also near coast of South Africa, in the Red Sea, and to the east of Australia. These latter colonies, however, consist of madrepore, which has little in common with the corals used as ornaments. CORAL Integrity Travel Chest, Creativity |