This is a Japanese red (Aka) coral and Akoya pearl necklace.
(The earrings in the 5th photo are not included in the price)
The necklace features vintage large red coral beads and Akoya pearls.
This particular type of coral is called Sudama coral.
The coral beads on this necklace have a lot of small holes (“su” 鬆 in Japanese). When a coral tree falls down in the sea and lies on the bottom for a long time, holes like this gradually form in the coral. This is a natural feature of untreated coral.
Japanese people in the past appreciated these features created by nature that took thousands of years to form.
Because they are light in weight, Sudama coral beads were often used as hair accessories and netsuke.
This necklace remains me of red berries and whipped cream. Large red Sudama coral beads such as these are no longer harvested and are extremely rare.
This necklace has a wild, natural beauty that reflects the power of the ocean.
Round beads of necklace diameter: about 6-12mm
Akoya pearls diameter:4.5-8.5mm
Necklace length:63cm
Total weight:45g
K14 solid gold clasp
Shipping cost is included
EMS or international UPS
7days to US,Canada and Australia
The color of this necklace is a beautiful red color, but it’s really hard to capture it in a photograph.
I took pictures in sunlight and indoor light. It looks somewhat different depending on the light and the background.
All the pictures I took have no enhancement, just under different environments (outdoor or indoor, sunlight or electric light, different backgrounds).
About my coral products
My column series “Beads Around the World” was just published.
This time I wrote about Japanese deep sea coral, which is used for jewelry. Japanese deep sea coral has been famous around the world and has been exported, similarly to Japanese cultured pearls. But its history started only about two hundred years ago, when a fisherman found coral in his net. Until then we did not know there was jewel coral around us.
Jewel coral has been highly admired throughout history. It was carried by merchants through the Silk Road from the Mediterranean sea for thousands ofyears.
Now Japanese deep sea corals are endangered species and need protection from illegal fishing and over-harvesting.
All my coral products are recycled from old jewelry made around 1960-1990’s, when coral was not endangered. I always intend to deal with coral only in ways that are environment-friendly and sustainable.
