ICA|GemLab Develops Mediterranean Coral Color Scale
Original article found in Preziosa magazine click here.
The purpose of the study, which concerns exclusively the color and not the value of the coral, is in fact to create an international standard to make transactions simpler and more transparent. Now the first results of the work put in place by Cibjo and Assocoral carried out by the ICA|GemLab of Bangkok.
Coral from the Mediterranean has its own color scale. The five shades identified by ICA|GemLab of Bangkok, as part of the initiative carried out by Cibjo and Assocoral, are: intense red, red, intense pink, pink and light pink, to obtain a classification of the precious corals of the Mediterranean (Corallium rubrum) based on their color, similar to that already used for diamonds.
A tool to simplify the work of producers and retailers in the description of jewels, arriving at an internationally consistent terminology, as illustrated in September in Vicenza during Voice by the president of CIBJO Gaetano Cavalieri, Vincenzo Aucella, president of Assocoral, and Enzo Liverino, president of the coral commission of CIBJO.
Liverino himself collaborated on the project in close contact with Ken Scarratt, director of ICA|GemLab, and as deputy in the CIBJO commission, as well as president of the one dedicated to pearls.
"This work - he explains - made it possible to identify a classification methodology, identifying five basic colors from deep red to light pink and then focusing on intermediate shades, in particular in the range between red and deep pink which includes the most commercialized corals. . We are now perfecting this system to make it accessible and usable by companies, retailers, but also by consumers. It is certainly an important tool for the sector.
The purpose of this scale, which concerns exclusively the color and not the value of the coral, is in fact to create an international standard to make transactions simpler and more transparent.
"The goal of the project - says Aucella - is to draw up a color scale that is assimilated by all gemological laboratories and which, like that of GIA for diamonds, becomes an international standard. One thing that was missing for the coral of the Mediterranean. As Assocoral, I thank the ICA|GemLab. Once the basic colors and shades have been identified, this classification must now be made accessible to anyone.
Top Image: Preziosa magazine © Courtesy Bruno Mazza
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