IVORY

Victorian Era hand carved ivory coiled snake bangle bracelet

Species:  Ivory
​​Mohs Hardness:  3 out of 10
Color:  Translucent to opaque white to light yellow.
RI:  1.535 to 1.540 (usually 1.540)
Birefringence:  None
SR/DR/AGG:  AGG
Fluorescence:  Weak to strong bluish white or violet-blue under LW & SW (stronger under LW).
SG:  1.70 to 2.00

Ivory Facts

Crosshatch graining is a characteristic of natural ivory

Ivory is a hard, white, organic material made from the bones and teeth of animals.

Ivory is most commonly obtained from elephant tusks, although it is also derived from mammoth, warthog, walrus, whale, hippopotamus, and narwhal.

Due to the value of ivory, people began hunting elephants for their tusks, causing a rapid decrease in elephant population.

In 1989, the United States implemented an immediate ban on elephant ivory imported from Africa, in an effort to reduce elephant poaching.

Natural ivory has wavy structure lines or a crosshatch pattern, known as engine turning, that is only visible from certain angles.

Ivory Gallery

All photos courtesy of Scott Papper, GIA GG, AJP, CMA (NAJA)