|
|
Home Technology / Education Events & News Archives Designs |
DANAT
Bahrain Institute For
Pearls & Gemstones
Precious coral is a biogenic gem material that has been Pused since the Neolithic times and cherished in various cultures and geographies. It is produced in eight species of colonial marine polyps (cnidarian invertebrates), belonging to the family Corallidae of the Anthozoa class, that live in relatively deep water. The vast majority of corals, more than 7,300 species, are not used un jewellery and some are the well-known reef-building corals. Precious corals are essentially composed by biomineralised calcium carbonate (calcite) with varying amounts of different types of organic matter. Precious corals have been mostly fashioned as beads and cabochons, but jewellery pieces with coral cameos as well as carvings and “objets d’art” are also popular. High-end jewellery and art pieces containing precious corals are frequently submitted to gemmological laboratories for reports. A standard coral gemmological report typically mentions the identification of the material as coral, sometimes with its trade name, and addresses the possible common treatments (e.g., polymer impregnated, colour treated). Over the last couple of years, requests for more information on corals’ species and the geographic area where they were harvested became more frequent by coral traders, collectors and auction houses. This demand is justified due to the fact that some corals products, as well as other biogenic gem materials, are subject to international regulations to monitor its trade and to collect information to assist in resource management laws, namely fishing regulations. Since June 2019 and in order to meet this
increasing demand for sustainable
sourcing, DANAT began offering a
specialized coral DNA Fingerprint
Report (DFR). DFR presents a set of
sophisticated non-destructive and microdestructive
tests, involving outsourced
DNA sequencing data obtained on the
submitted precious coral samples (or in
random samples in case of a necklace or
strand) in close collaboration with the
Department of Biology of the Federico II
University in Naples (Italy). With this
micro-destructive test, a small amount of
the sample is carefully extracted from an
inconspicuous area in order to determine
its identity down to the species level
through the study of the complex
nucleotide sequence. DANAT, an institute established in line with the revival of the Kingdom's pearling industry, an initiative under the Executive Committee’s projects, is aimed at placing the Kingdom as a leading destination regionally and internationally for pearl and gemstone expertise.
|