Professional Gemologist Appraiser

Womens Cuff Bracelet Sterling Silver in Adjustible Indian-Style (Jewelry) tagged "fine jewelry" 5 times

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Carved Ivory Jewelry Question: I have a necklace and bracelet set that is hand carved (I think ivory).

The carvings are of sea animals.

The World Market for Unworked Ivory, Tortoise-Shell, Whalebone, Whalebone Hair, Horns, Antlers, Hooves, Nails, and Claws Including Powder and Wastes Thereof: A 2004 Global Trade Perspective

Price: $795.00

There are three separate bracelets, two of which have the same animal carvings, although one has smaller carvings. I can email a photo if you would like to see them.

Thank you so much for any information you may have about these...

Answer: G'day Sherrie and many thanks for your query

The problem with and Ivory is twofold.

First; because of the Anti-Poaching movement, Ivory, Whale bone and the like, have fallen out of favor.

What most people don't understand is that most of the jewelry made from Ivory over the past 100 years or so (commercial) came from animals which had died NATURALLY or after being Culled.

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If you came across a dead animal in the bush, wouldn't you use it to feed your family and earn some money?

But the overall IMPRESSION is that these animals were killed in order to make jewelry. Okay some animals were killed - and I am glad the practice has stopped - but that still means that there is NOT a legal trade in Ivory, so there are no tables or lists of prices to find out what something is worth. It's an EXPERIENCE thing.

Which leads me to the second problem;

Most gemologists would tend to pass the items over to a dealer with years of experience who specializes in such items. They are few and far between.

You can do a comparison shop by looking in eBay or the Antique Jewelry Fair at: http://www.antique-jewelry-fair.com/ and try to find something similar - but remember the second-hand price has NOTHING to do with the Appraisal for Insurance value which would be MUCH HIGHER.

There are also Antique Dealers who have some Ivory available but by-in-large the rule would be - The value is what a willing seller is prepared to accept from a willing buyer. In other words what they both accept as a fair price.

There is a rough formula for general ivory and bone etc but that is really only a guide. Your local FRIENDLY jeweler/appraiser/valuer should be able to put a 'Ball-Park' figure on the items, but that's all it will be. Again there would be no Hallmarks or Gold standards or commercial trading to arrive at an exact value.

Lastly I should just like to add - are you SURE these are REAL IVORY?

The sea animals are a common theme in early plastic which was used to imitate Ivory. Best get it checked first.

Hope this helps. Once you have your basic information together you can always use our Jewelry Appraisals Online system to upgrade and re-assess your items at a much lower cost.

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