A luxury for the nobles – red coral
Aliases: Aka, RedCoral.
Water depth: 110~ 360m.
Sea area: Northeast of Taiwan, off the coast of Kaohsiung, off the coast of Yilan Wujie, near Hongtou (Lanyu Sea).
Red corals grow on seabed rocks or cliffs at depths of 110 to 360 m, and the flowing ocean currents bring abundant oxygen to plankton, which allows polyps to thrive. Red corals in the lanyu area grow at a deeper depth, with a maximum depth of about 360 m. In the outer seas of Yilan Wujie, a depth of 50 to 60 meters will also catch red corals with very bright colors, but the material is poor and the yield is very small. Red coral tree shape is generally not large, the weight of 300 ~ 800g is more common, the weight of about 2kg is a large tree shape, and fishing to 5 ~ 6kg is a rare thing, fishing for this coral sailor will definitely get the captain's reward.
Red-blooded corals are mostly solitary, rarely growing in fan-shaped conjoined bodies, and the white core is biased towards the back, even close to the epidermis, and the whole body presents a glassy texture.
Red-blood corals range in color from black to cow's blood, red, pink, and even white (white is an extremely rare thing). Regardless of the color of red-blood coral, its shape, texture and texture are basically the same. However, there are also a few red blood corals in the sea-produced areas that will have turbidity and more pronounced texture. The most expensive top-of-the-line red coral on the market asks for 20,000/g, yes, 20,000 per gram.
Red blood coral is vitreous, slightly transparent, dense, hardness are large, cutting and polishing processing is easy to produce high temperature, easy to crack, so be very careful. Also because of the micro-transparent nature of red blood corals, imperfections can be seen at a glance when approaching the light source, which is an important way to identify the advantages and disadvantages of red blood corals. Red-blooded corals with darker colors and good textures tend to be very rare and expensive. Red blood corals are mostly processed into round balls (that is, dragon balls), oval ring noodles, in the early years mainly sold to Japan, in China and South Korea, India and other places are also loved by people.
A rare member of the red coral, the peach-colored coral
Alias: Momo Coral.
Sea area: Mainly produced in the waters of Taiwan, 200m deep sea miles west of Kaohsiung through the dongsha islands below, Suao wai turtle mountain island, Pengjia Island, Jizaise, Diaoyu Island, green island (Huohuoliao) near the Lanyu Island (red head). In 1923, a Japanese man fished the first peach-colored coral in the sea off Keelung, which began the history of peach-colored coral. Peach-colored corals derive their name from the color of the fruit peach.
The three major production areas of peach-colored corals
No1: North of the waters off Su'ao, Taiwan to Guishan Island, Pengjia Island, Chiwei Island, diaoyu Island.
This sea area is the best peach coral production area, the coral plant is larger, the average weight is 600 ~ 15000g, the color is uniform, and the water metamorphism rate is small, less than 0.3%. The water here is warm and there is an abundance of plankton for corals to eat, making it an excellent environment for coral life and growth. This sea area is commonly known as Daxingdong, and the highest level of raw materials for coral products mostly comes from this area.
No2: The ridges between Green Island and Orchid Island in Taiwan and between the Bashi Strait.
It is concentrated in the undersea peaks between Green Island and Orchid Island, and the southern Eluanbi of Orchid Island, with a water depth of 200 to 360m. The peach-colored corals here are relatively long, generally 25 to 1250px, with more yields, most of which weigh 300 to 3000g, and a few weigh up to 20kg. In terms of color, there are fewer pink colors, and most of them are medium to light. Due to the high salt and high temperature Black Tide from the open sea of the Philippines at a strong flow rate of one meter per second, it brings a wealth of microorganisms, making the corals here grow faster, so it appears to be relatively thick and straight, with the nickname of "sugarcane festival". The excessive growth rate also makes them of average quality, and the peach-colored corals here have been mined since the end of the 19th century, with very few live branches, mostly inverted branches regenerating, and the water quality variation rate is as high as about 30%. Bright red in color and less solid in texture, it is generally used to carve figures and drum beads.
No3: The sea off Kaohsiung follows the 200m isobath jibei island to the sea above the Dongsha Islands to Hainan Island.
The red coral production area in this area is mostly below the 200m isobath line, which belongs to the slow, high temperature and low salt current area of the Taiwan Strait of China. In a few areas, due to the better geology of the growing environment, the color and shape of corals are very good. But most areas are full of sediment, and once they are lifted by currents, they can have a great impact on the growth of polyps, and even lead to their death. After the epidermis formed by these corals is eroded by the fungus moths, when the environment is suitable, the new polyps attach to the inverted branches and moth holes to continue to grow. Corals in this area also belong to the fastest growing varieties, regeneration is more common, the color is relatively light, often after the water out of the water often undergo qualitative change, coarse silk, dry or fading phenomenon of up to about 40%. This production area is called "Hong Kong West" by fishermen in Taiwan, and this sea area can also be exploited for a long time.
It is worth highlighting that this area also produces a coral called Angel Skin in the West, that is, the face of angels. The face of the angel is evenly pink, the texture is as delicate as a baby's skin, and the delicate white also reveals a pink color, which is very charming. In addition, the waters of China's Diaoyu Dao are also rich in peach coral resources, and ships from Southern Australia in Taiwan often travel to and from here to develop unknown gem coral operations in new sea areas.
Miss coral like girlish skin
Aliases: Pink Coral, West Coral
Water depth: 280~ 700m.
Sea area: Northeast of Chiwei Island, Taitung Offshore, Eluanbi, Pingtung Checheng, and southern of Dongsha Islands.
Miss corals did not attract much attention at first in Taiwan, but were snapped up by Italian coral merchants because European women loved pink corals very much. Miss corals are mainly concentrated in the southeast of Taiwan, the southwest of the Dongsha Islands, the south of Hailan Island outside Taitung, the Houbi Lake of Donggang, the outer sea of Eluanbi, the northeast of Diaoyu Islands (Chiwei Island) and other areas, with a water depth of 280 to 700m, and the production of the Middle East Sand Islands is the most unstable.
Notable properties of Miss corals:
(1) The habitat is relatively concentrated and will not be dispersed.
(2) The color is mostly pink or white, and there is no redder color.
(3) The branches generally show a transparent texture, the plant body is fan-shaped, the white core is close to the back, the front facing the ocean current is more uniform and smooth, the back line is more obvious, and the color is slightly darker. Some Miss corals have water-embossed stripes, but all are at the back. Miss coral effluent is stable and polished to achieve perfection.
Where do Miss corals come from?
Part1.Donggang Houbihu production area
At 17 nautical miles west of the tail of Eluan, the ship of Chen Wanjiao, the captain of the ship specializing in coral salvage, first discovered Miss corals at a depth of 280 to 320 meters in this area, and returned after catching 36 to 42 kg of Miss corals. Subsequently, the captain of "Jin Changlong" No. 13 followed and followed him to fish. The coral plants here are straighter, have fewer twigs and are rich in color. This appellation has now passed its peak season for Miss corals, but it is still a much-talked about appellation.
Part2.South of Orchid Island
The appellation was quietly salvaged by a low-key captain for four years. All red, peach and deep-water corals in other appellations grow on hard-textured reefs, but the red corals in this appellation are like cultivated rice, which grow in the soil. Corals grow in the dirt and are not very grippy and easy to catch. The red corals in this appellation are very dense, 99% inverted branches, slightly green in color, with traces of smoke on the surface and a black layer on the surface, possibly due to submarine volcanoes. There is a large number of thin layers at the root of the coral, indicating that after dying during the growth process, it is restored to life for secondary growth. The phenomenon of drying out of the red corals in this area is serious, indicating that they have experienced volcanic high temperatures. Red corals that have not been eroded are generally uniform in color and beautiful in color and have excellent texture.
Deep-water corals that are extremely difficult to salvage
Alias: Deep Sea Coral.
Water depth: 600 ~ 1800m, most in 980 ~ 1280m, very rare in
1800m。
Sea: Midway Waters. Latitude 35°~36°N, longitude 170°~180°E.
Deep water, as the name suggests, the growth waters of this coral are relatively deep, growing at a depth of 600 to 1800m water, with patterns. The colors are red, light pink, white, of which there are very few whites. The color is beautiful, there is a transparent texture, and some are red and white, like a cloud pattern. The branches of deep-water coral are fully cylindrical, with pressure stripes on the back and obvious spots on the front, such as "Kobe beef" and "snowflake beef". If the deep water coral is pink and uniform in color and has no pressure lines, the price will be very expensive, even higher than the price of the Momo angel face.
Deep-water corals are bounded by 36° north latitude, and the plants north of the boundary are larger, generally used to make beads, and particularly large branches are also used as carvings, while small branches with uniform color and good texture are mostly made into rings or pendants.
Going to Midway to salvage deep-water corals is a very difficult thing, the journey alone will take nearly 20 days, plus the 20 days of the return trip, and it is normal to work for 3 months. The captain of Penghu Magong Port, Zeng Yikun,took two and a half years to operate for the longest time, but he also gained a lot of red corals worth tens of millions of Taiwan dollars that time. In this operation area, the water depth of 350 to 450m is generally the south branch coral, the south branch coral is mostly white, and there are few light pink ones. Fished at 500 to 550m is generally Mid Coral, and the branches of Mido coral are mostly small. Deep-water corals are more glassy than Nanzhi corals and Meadows corals, and the growth center point is not obvious, and there are generally cracks behind them.
Shallow water corals with flat branches
Alias: Shallow water.
Water depth: 600~940m.
Sea: Midway Waters. Latitude 30°~32°N, longitude 170°~180°E.
Shallow water corals generally appear light pink, a bit like the color of salmon's back, belly, and tail, with darker colors on the back and lighter belly. There are fewer white shallow water corals. As for why this coral is called shallow water coral, the author is also very puzzled, it is said that the color of this coral is much darker than that of red blood coral and peach coral, why it is called shallow water coral, it may be relative to the fishing depth of deep water coral 900 ~ 1800m.
The texture and color of the shallow water coral front are very uniform, delicate and slightly transparent. Another very significant feature is that its branches are flattened, with centipede-like grooves on the back, and grooved edges. These determine that most of the shallow water corals are processed into oval or heart-shaped rings, pendants, or small beads, mainly due to consumables.
In the past, there were more than 80 coral fishing vessels in Taiwan at the most in Midway, but due to the lack of price coordination at that time, they led to mutual price reduction, and the cheapest time was once a loss. Later, for various reasons, coral fishing in Midway island was stopped, resulting in a 20-year stagnation in coral fishing in the area. In 2005, ships from Southern Australia, Taiwan, sailed to Midway island again and harvested 6 tonnes of white coral, but most of them were inverted corals, and a significant part of them were the result of trawling 20 years ago.
"Petite and cute" Meadow coral
Aliases: Pink Coral, Mid Coral, Midway Coral.
Water depth: 170 ~ 500m, most of them in 400 ~ 450m.
Sea: Midway Waters. Latitude 30°~36°N, longitude 170°~180°E.
Midway Red Coral is a wide area, and even in the same location, there are differences in variety due to different water depths. As early as 1967, Japanese coral ships caught a large number of red corals here. Coral operators in Taiwan also have a great interest in this area, but because they do not know the specific location of red coral, they often do not return. Later, because of the frequent exchanges between Taipei Hypertherm Coral Company and some Japanese coral enterprises in Taipei, Su Dengshan obtained the accurate location of Japanese coral boat operations on Midway, so that the ships from Taipei and Penghu in Taiwan sailed to Midway island at 173° east longitude and 33° north latitude in May and July 1975, respectively. At that time, Midway island accounted for two-thirds of living-branch corals and one-third of inverted branches. There are many white corals in the south branch here, and the water depth is between 200 and 400 meters. And the seabed landform here is a relatively gentle cliff surface, which is relatively easy to mine. Ships that went in May returned to port in September received 3.24 tons of coral and sales of up to NT$9 million. Ships that went in July also received corals worth NT$4 million.
The water depth of Meidu coral is mostly between 400 and 550m, the branches are relatively small, generally between 5 and 15mm, the white core growing in the center is more obvious, the position is more backward, and the color and texture of the front are very uniform. The color is pale red, slightly darker and more colorful than shallow water corals, and there are white skins, red skins, black skins and wormholes shortly after the branches have just been inverted. The branches are smaller than the southern branches of coral, and are generally used to make rings, and the large branches can also be used for carvings. Meadow corals resemble shallow water corals, but are pinkish orange in color than shallow water corals, and the white core is more obvious, and the position is also biased towards the back.
"Pink and White Beauty" - Nanzhi Coral
Aliases: Nanzhi, Nanzhi Powder, White Coral.
Water depth: 170~450m.
Region: Midway Off.
The color of the south branch coral is white and pink, the white is called "south branch white", and the pink is called "south branch pink". Nanzhi corals and Meadows corals are both produced in the waters off Midway, but the varieties are different due to different water depths. South branch corals generally grow at water depths between 170 and 450 m, mostly white and rarely pink. Small carvings made of pink Nanzhi corals are higher than the price of white Nanzhi corals. One of the most notable features of the south branch coral is that its tiny branches grow on the back. The characteristic that distinguishes the south branch coral from the shallow water coral is that its cross-section is round, while the shallow water coral section is flat. The color of pink south branch corals is mostly sporadic red dots, and although the cross-section of Meadow coral is also round, the color is orange. The color of the Nanzhi coral is pleasant, and it is mostly processed into Buddha beads and small carvings under 15mm, most of which are purchased by Japanese customers, and the larger ones are carved into small carvings such as flower, birds, fish and insect character cards.