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Sea Shells and Corals

Blue coral skeletons from Indo-Pacific reef flats, fine branched Seriatopora colonies out of the Philippines, and the nacreous mollusc shells that pair with them.

Buy Sea Shells and Corals by Species, Span and Weight, From Desk Branches to Twenty One Inch Reef Colonies

Sea shells and corals are the mineral skeletons left behind by marine animals, the first built by a single mollusc as a layered aragonite shell and the second built by a whole colony as a branching or massive framework. Astro Gallery of Gems buys this material as cleaned and bleached skeleton, names the species behind each of the 35 pieces on this page, records span in inches and weight in pounds, and photographs every colony before a buyer purchases it.

Reef Species Behind the Shells and Corals on This Shelf

Two coral species carry the current shelf, and mollusc shells join them whenever Astro Gallery lands good material, so the pairing works because the two halves behave differently on a surface. Coral supplies mass, texture and shadow, while a shell supplies a single curve and a lustrous interior.

Blue Ridge Coral, Heliopora coeruleaThe only octocoral that builds a massive aragonite skeleton, ridged in parallel blades across every face. Iron salts laid down inside the calcium carbonate colour the interior blue, which surfaces wherever a blade is broken, and the bleached exterior reads clean white against dark wood.
Birds Nest Coral, SeriatoporaA stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae whose branches taper to needle points and interlace into a dense ball. Astro Gallery buys these colonies out of Philippine reef stock at two and a half to four pounds, a weight that sits on a shelf without needing a plinth.
Mollusc shells, the lighter half of the pairingA gastropod builds one spiralled valve and a bivalve builds a matched pair, both from aragonite platelets bonded in conchiolin protein. That layered structure is what produces nacre, so a shell answers light in a way a porous coral skeleton never does.
Indo-Pacific reef flatsShallow lagoon and reef flat environments across the western Pacific produce both species stocked here, growing them in the branching habit that survives collection intact. Colony size is capped by what the reef grows and what travels whole, which is why a twenty one inch head prices as a rarity.

Span, Weight and the Surface a Colony Needs

Span across the widest axis decides placement far more reliably than weight does, because a branching colony claims air around itself as well as footprint. Astro Gallery measures each piece across its longest dimension and weighs it, and the five tiers below cover everything currently in stock.

TierWhat occupies it and where it belongs
Desk branch, 4 to 6 inchesSmall Blue Ridge Coral fragments that fit a bathroom shelf or a desk corner, opening the pricing on this page and carrying most of the gift buying that reaches it.
Shelf fan, 6 to 8 inchesWider Blue Ridge pieces whose ridged blades read clearly from three feet away, which slot between books or beside framed prints without dominating the run.
Birds nest cluster, 2.5 to 4 poundsSeriatopora colonies with fine interlacing branches that need clearance on every side, since a sleeve or a passing cuff snaps needle tips before anything else on the shelf.
Console colony, 16 to 20 inchesBlue Ridge heads of eighteen to twenty five pounds that anchor a console table, a hearth or a wide sideboard and want a cleared sight line to work properly.
Statement colony, 21 inches and upThe largest reef masses on the page, reaching thirty nine pounds, which belong on a plinth or a low table with a surface rated for concentrated point loading.

Shop Live Prices for Every Coral and Shell in Stock

Each row below is one colony photographed as it will arrive, and its figure comes from the catalogue rather than a printed list. Because every skeleton is one of one, a piece that sells leaves this table rather than staying visible as something nobody can buy.

PieceDetailPrice
Genuine Birds Nest Coral ( 3.5 lbs) 3.5 lbs $ 450.00
Genuine Birds Nest Coral (2.5 lbs) 2.5 lbs $ 400.00
Genuine Birds Nest Coral (4 lbs) 4 lbs $ 450.00
Genuine Blue Ridge Coral (18", 20.5 lbs) 18", 20.5 lbs $ 3,400.00
Genuine Blue Ridge Coral (18", 25 lbs) 18", 25 lbs $ 3,900.00
Genuine Blue Ridge Coral (18", 39.5 lbs) 18", 39.5 lbs $ 6,800.00
Span and weight stated on every colonyAstro Gallery measures each skeleton across its widest axis, weighs it, and holds the price on the listing through secure checkout.
View all 35 pieces Request photographs

CITES, Legal Sourcing and Crossing a Border With Coral

Coral trade sits inside a real regulatory frame, and a buyer deserves to know it before ordering rather than afterwards. Stony corals in the order Scleractinia, the blue coral family Helioporidae and the organ pipe corals are all listed on Appendix II of CITES, as are queen conch, giant clam and nautilus among shells. Astro Gallery names the species on every listing, sells this material within United States trade rules, and asks buyers outside the United States to confirm their own import position first, since a coral skeleton crossing a border needs paperwork accepted at both ends.

A Branching Colony Against a Single Shell

The coral colonyA Blue Ridge or Seriatopora skeleton is architecture rather than an object, so it earns a position with light raking across it and empty space behind. Interior buyers use one colony as the textural anchor of a shelf, and the larger heads carry a room the way a piece of sculpture does at the same span.
The mollusc shellA shell reads as one continuous curve, and its nacreous interior throws colour that a matt coral skeleton cannot. Shells group well in odd numbers, travel far more safely than branching coral, and suit a bathroom, a bedside table or a shallow bowl where a heavy colony would overwhelm the surface.

Condition Points to Settle Before You Pay for Coral

Species named, not the word coral aloneHeliopora coerulea and Seriatopora behave differently in the hand and price differently on the shelf, so a listing that stops at coral is withholding the thing that sets value. Astro Gallery names the species and the general source region on each piece.
Branch tips and blade edgesDamage on a branching skeleton concentrates at the extremities, so study the tips at full zoom rather than the body. Astro Gallery photographs breaks and old healed scars rather than shooting around them, and states any loss in the description.
Cleaning residue and colourAn over bleached skeleton goes chalky and sheds powder, while an under cleaned one keeps a grey cast and a faint odour in warm rooms. A correctly processed colony stays bright white with the blue interior of Heliopora visible only where a blade has parted.
Base, balance and the invoiceCheck that the colony seats flat and carries its weight without rocking, since reef skeletons rarely grow a level foot. Astro Gallery itemises the coral, its species and any supplied base separately on the invoice, which matters for insurance and for resale.

Corallite, Aragonite, Octocoral and Nacre Defined

CoralliteThe cup shaped skeletal chamber built by one coral polyp. Corallite size and spacing across a surface are a primary identification feature between stony coral species.
AragoniteThe calcium carbonate form that both coral skeletons and mollusc shells deposit. Aragonite dissolves in acid, which rules out vinegar and household descalers near either material.
OctocoralA coral whose polyps carry eight tentacles. Heliopora coerulea is the single octocoral that builds a massive reef skeleton rather than a soft or horny one.
ScleractiniaThe order of stony corals, which includes Seriatopora and the reef builders behind most branching material. Every species in the order sits on Appendix II of CITES.
NacreThe iridescent shell lining made of stacked aragonite platelets in conchiolin, responsible for the colour shift across a polished gastropod or bivalve interior.
Bleached skeletonCoral cleaned of all soft tissue and organic residue, leaving white carbonate. Bleaching is a preparation step for display material and is stated in the listing description.

Order Coral and Shells for a Console, a Bathroom or a Gift

Coastal and biophilic interiors drive most of the buying here, and the material rewards that use because a white reef skeleton reads against almost any wall colour. Designers stand a single large Heliopora head on a console, group small branches with shells in a shallow tray, or place a birds nest colony where side light throws its branch shadows onto the wall behind. Astro Gallery also supplies the smaller pieces as wedding, housewarming and coastal property gifts, where a named species and a stated weight turn an ornament into a documented natural object.

Salt Air, Dust and Sunlight Around a Coral Skeleton

Aragonite is soft and porous, so a coral skeleton collects dust in every corallite and gives it back reluctantly. Blow the dust out with canned air or lift it with a soft artist brush, and keep water, vinegar and household sprays away permanently because acid etches carbonate on contact. Direct sun does no harm to bleached white skeleton, but heat cycling beside a radiator opens fine cracks in thin branches. Shells want the opposite care, since sustained sunlight dulls nacre and fades pigment, which puts them off a bright sill and onto an interior shelf.

Purchase, Packing and Insured Delivery of Brittle Material

Astro Gallery charges the price shown on the listing at secure checkout, with payment settling through Shop Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, Discover or Diners Club. Ask our team for the underside, the widest span against a ruler, or a photograph of any branch tip you want to inspect, and they will send it rather than repeating the description. Every purchase ships against an itemised invoice naming the species, the span and the weight.

Astro Gallery of Gems has packed fragile natural material since 1961, and branching coral receives the most cautious method in the building. We suspend each colony in cut foam so no branch touches a wall of the carton, fill voids so the skeleton cannot shift, and double box everything above a pound. Parcels leave tracked and fully insured at declared value with customs paperwork prepared before dispatch, and the heaviest reef heads travel by freight against a quote agreed in advance. Our returns policy and the guarantee published on about us apply to every colony that leaves.

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Match a colony to your surface firstSend our team the span you have available and we will shortlist the corals and shells in stock that fit it, with fresh photographs.
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Answers Buyers Want Before They Buy Coral or Shells

How much does a large coral piece cost?
Small Blue Ridge branches of four to six inches open the range, birds nest colonies and mid sized fans occupy the middle, and reef heads of sixteen to twenty one inches sit at the top. The live table above carries the current figure for every colony in stock.
Can I legally own coral bought in the United States?
Yes within the United States for lawfully sourced material, which is what Astro Gallery sells. Stony corals, blue coral and several shell species sit on Appendix II of CITES, so buyers outside the United States should confirm their own import requirements before ordering.
What species is Blue Ridge Coral?
Blue Ridge Coral is Heliopora coerulea, the only octocoral that builds a massive aragonite skeleton. Iron salts inside the carbonate give it a blue interior, visible wherever a ridge blade has parted, beneath a bleached white outer surface.
Do I receive the exact colony pictured in the listing?
Yes. Astro Gallery photographs each colony individually because no two reef skeletons branch the same way, so the span, the branch pattern and the condition you see are the ones delivered.
Which size suits a bathroom or a bookshelf?
Choose the four to eight inch tier for a bathroom shelf, a bedside table or a run of books, where the piece adds texture without crowding. Colonies above sixteen inches want a console, a hearth or a plinth with clear space around them.
How do I clean a coral skeleton?
Lift dust with canned air or a soft artist brush and nothing wet. Coral skeleton is aragonite, so water carries dust deeper into the corallites and any acidic cleaner etches the surface permanently.
Do you ship coral internationally?
We ship tracked and fully insured with customs paperwork prepared before dispatch, and we discuss any international coral order with you first because Appendix II material needs documentation accepted at both borders. Large reef heads move by freight against an agreed quote.
Can I return a coral piece that arrives damaged?
Yes, under the terms of our returns policy, and every parcel travels insured at declared value. Photograph the carton and the piece on arrival, then contact our team and we will resolve it from there.

Shells and Corals Beside Other Natural Display Material

Buyers furnishing a coastal or biophilic room rarely stop at one reef piece, and Astro Gallery groups the neighbouring pages below so the next choice takes one click rather than a search.

More marine material
Aquatic piecesFossilsPolished septarian
Scaled for a room
Home decorLarge carvingsSpheres
White and pale display stone
SeleniteCalciteApophyllite
Gifts and smaller pieces
GiftsPalm stonesStone carvings
Before you order
Shipping and returnsAbout Astro GalleryMineral specimens