How do I tell if something is ivory, bone or an ivory substitute (plastic or resin)?
Ivory is actually the natural tooth of an animal. Teeth continue to grow throughout an animal’s lifetime and as a result, they have a noticeable structure and “growth lines” (called Schreger lines in elephant ivory). Look at the piece carefully under a magnifying glass. Under a 10x magnifier, elephant and mammoth ivory will have visible striations or grain that often show up as diamond or “V” shapes or cross-hatching on the surface or edges of polished ivory. Bone lacks such “V” shaped striations. Under magnification bone usually shows minuscule circular or oval shaped dots on cut surfaces. These dots are the tiny vessels that once supplied the living bone. Also, bone exhibits grain-like parallel striations and usually has dark flecks of dirt particles caught in the pores of cut bone — all not present in ivory. Resins or plastics have a uniform surface, usually with no striations or diamond or “V” patterns, however some manufacturers are now introducing faux ivory with an attempt to r
