Vintage Anelia
Natural Materials
Jewelry Materials from Animals
Ivory - Bone - Horn
The Vintage Anelia collection has hundreds of pieces made Natural Materials
The photo examples shown are all from our collection
IVORY
Technically the tooth (or tusk) of an animal (such as elephant, walrus & whale). Because teeth grow through an animal's life, they have noticeable "growth lines." Ivory has a wonderful smooth feel, and comforting to wear. The most popular ivory jewelry are bracelets, but earrings, pins and pendants are also desirable.
Tips for identifying ivory:
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It feels heavy and dense (think of a billiard ball, which used to be made of ivory)
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Magnified, you can see striations or grain lines, set in a criss-cross or V pattern – these are the “growth lines”.
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Ivory is cool to the touch
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Ivory shows bright white under a black-light, though older ivory may have a creamy patina
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Plastic imitations have a uniform surface, with no striations
CARE - Antique ivory should be handled with care using gloves if possible as your hand oil and dirt can darken the ivory. Ivory is porous and susceptible to staining, so keep ivory separate from corroding and colored materials. Ivory tends to dry out with age becoming brittle. A very light vegetable oil can be used to hydrate it, wrapping your ivory pieces overnight in soft cloth saturated with mineral oil or glycerin, wiping off the excess in the morning. Many liquids, including water are destructive to ivory and will cause swelling and cracking.
Cleaning should be done only with a clean, soft cloth, paintbrush or toothbrush, carefully brushing off the dirt.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Ivory jewelry and pieces are very desirable and collectible, but also controversial because how it was collected, and the criminal black market it created. Since the 1970s the USA has regulated (in some cases prohibited) the importation and sale of ivory internationally. Any pieces imported before then are OK, and it is legal to own ivory. (All the ivory pieces in the Vintage Anelia collection were obtained prior to the 1960s. But note, due to government regulations, we cannot ship any of these items outside the U.S.)
BONE
Comes from a variety of usually larger animals from Africa and India. Bones in a living creature once contained tiny vessels as part of the animal’s life support. Under magnification you can see these as minuscule circular or oval dots. Bone also has grain-like striations, but they are more parallel and often have flecks of dirt. Bone appears more porous and is more lightweight than ivory.
HORN
People have been crafting jewelry from animal horns for ages – usually using the horns of Buffalo, oxen, and other hoofed animals. Only the hard exterior part of the horn is used in jewelry, so most pieces are kept in the natural horn shape, or sections used for bangle or cuff bracelets.
As horn is an organic material, susceptible to disintegration many vintage pieces has been destroyed, leaving good vintage pieces quite rare.
TORTOISE SHELL
Tortoise shell usually comes from the outer covering shell of the Hawksbill or Loggerhead turtle. It was used to make beautiful combs, bracelets, earrings and the like. Today its manufacture and sale is illegal in many areas, only certifiable vintage products can be sold. So, you’ll find many pieces called tortoise shell are actually plastic, just called tortoise shell for their coloring or appearance. One test for distinguishing real tortoise shell is to vigorously rub the article with a piece of wool or cotton cloth until it becomes warm. If you can smell camphor it’s a fake.
ELEPHANT HAIR
Elephant hair is thick, course and usually jet
black. It has a natural curve, making it most
commonly used for making bracelets.
It benefits from being worn, as your body's
oils help preserve the hair.
Browse our Information Pages:
Vintage Costume Jewelry hallmarks
Vintage jewelry types & terms
Check out the full Vintage Anelia costume jewelry collection at ArtFire.com