Coral beads are not actually stones. Coral beads are made up of tiny sea animals called polyps. Polyps live in large colonies that cement themselves to each other, making large branch-like formations. When the polyps die, they leave behind their skeletons as a part of the coral. New generations of polyps build onto these old skeletons, and slowly the coral grows.

Coral beads come in many colors such as red, yellow, purple, and green. Obviously, red coral beads are all that sell well. Natural red coral beads are hard to find since most of it has already been mined. Nearly all the red coral beads that we see are white or pink coral that has been dyed. Since it can take hundreds of years for polyps to build up a reasonable amount of red coral, it is already a concern that natural red coral beads will soon become artifacts.

Besides the time it takes for coral to build up, there are other factors limiting the production of coral beads. The most important of which is that many fish depend on coral for survival and many more fish depend on those other fish for food. Another factor is that coral reefs are good for the economy. Many countries protect their coral reefs for the sole reason of luring tourists.

So, are coral beads diminishing? Natural coral beads are on a sharp decline, but the dyed and fake stuff won't be going anywhere as long as they continue to sell.