Japanese blood red (Aka-coral) coral and silk Kumihimo bracelet featuring vintage coral Haori-himo with the original box from coral workshop “Hirata” in Kochi.
Natural color, untreated not dyed.
The color is blood red with the white core showing in some places.
The white core is proof of Japanese blood red coral.
It gives the coral beads a somewhat translucent look, like red berries.
These blood red coral beads are from Kochi, the place where Japanese coral was discovered in the 19th century.
This is the most expensive and highly desired kind of coral.
A Haori-himo is a string that holds the front of a kimono jacket together. Since haori is formal clothing, most haori-himo are decorative luxury items.
This is a vintage Haori-himo that I have remade into a bracelet, using the original set of natural color, untreated coral beads and adding a new silk kumihimo thread made by an old kumihimo shop in Tokyo that has been in business for 140 years.
Coral is very light in weight compared to other gemstones, and silk cords are also very light, so you may forget you are wearing this bracelet.
A very rare red baguette-shaped coral bead is used as a toggle bar.
This bracelet is made with only coral and silk, so it is totally metal free. It will be perfect for someone who is allergic to metal.
Like most coral beads, these have some natural imperfections such as small holes, cracks, white spots, and inclusions.
Size of the bracelet: adjustable, will fit 15-17cm (about 5.9-6.7in) wrist
Size of coral beads
Round: 5.3-3.8mm
Tubular: 11-7.7 x 5-4mm
Baguette: 24x6mm
Weight: 10.5g
The original box is old and has stains
Corals were much loved by Japanese women in the past.
They were often worn at happy ceremonial events.
Please keep in mind that Japanese precious coral almost always has a few cracks and dimples that usually don’t stand out.
The cracks mostly come from the change in water pressure when the deep sea coral is harvested and pulled to the surface.
However it does not break easily, and it’s no problem for wearing it.
About my coral products
In my column series “Beads Around the World,” published in the Japanese magazine Bead Art, I wrote a few articles about Japanese precious coral and Japanese pearls.
Japanese precious 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 of years.
Now Japanese precious 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.
