About 20 years ago I was given a [url=“http://www.angelfire.com/ab2/shadowsofamber/ivory.JPG” necklace that was rather aged looking when I recieved it. The person who gave it to me said it was antique ivory, or so he had been told by the person who had sold it to him in Kenya and it has aged (yellowed) since I got it.
I haven’t worn it in ages and just “discovered” it again when I was cleaning out my jewelry armoire (an undertaking that cannot be full appreciated if you aren’t an accessory junkie like I am), and I got to wondering just how can one tell the difference between real ivory and bone?
Okay. I hate Angelfire.
Here’s a working link to the necklace in question
I’m sure you are going for the record of cosective posts to your own post but…
http://www.sloperama.com/majexchange/id.htm
Hello Arden Ranger, ok here it is, I was born and raised in South Africa, I am an American however, I moved here when I was 17 [to the States]. I still have lots of family in Cape Town, Durban, and way up north in Tanzania. I am pretty sure the necklace you have is Ivory, it is definitely ‘bone’ but if you look at the second crescent up from the bottom (to the left) you can see several circular striations. It looks like wood but it isn’t, its just “old bone”. The Yellowing you spoke of is common for “Ivory”, it is an enzyme break down in the bone, and it makes it look yellow. I would not try to get this out with a cleaner, I would bring it to someone who works with Ivory or Scrimshaw, they will know how to restore it to make it look like when you first got it. So to answer your original Q, I do believe it is Ivory. Unfortunately, I have seen lots and lots of Ivory in my day, some of it (to tell you the truth was very ‘new’ / ‘fresh’.) But the piece you have ‘looks’ like Ivory, the beads around the necklace may not be Ivory, but the carved pieces most likely are, especially if it is more than 20 yrs old. Good luck with your endeavor, I hope I have been some help.
Phlosphr, I wouldn’t dream of trying to clean it! I rather like the rich ivory color it has taken on. The beads are actually darker than the carvings, but I don’t know if that means anything and they’re too small for me to really see any ‘grain’ in them.
As for that second crescent, when I look at it ‘live’ that isn’t a grain pattern. It looks more like a pattern of wear.
don’t ask 
Thanks, guys!
