Anything belonging to the white cream family is called ivory and when it is about Ivory Jewellery, it could be sourced from elephant, boar, or whale's tusks. Since engaging in ivory jewellery making is illegal now, artisans have found an alternative to it and make use of certain material that could be replicated with the original. Historians have found many artefacts and ivory sculptures of gods, goddesses and weapons which clearly scream of the popularity of ivory being used for many things, even before gold was found and used by people.
Handcrafted beauty of Ivory Jewellery-
Initially, elephant's tusks used to be used for making handcrafted ivory jewellery since the tusk is soft naturally and is a great raw material to make stunning and aesthetic looking jewellery out of it. Rajasthan, Orissa, West Bengal are the three places popular for their handicrafts and ivory jewellery. In the older traditions and when the trade of ivory was legal, ivory jewellery such as ivory necklaces, pendants and ivory bangles were gifted to the young brides in these places.
Ivory jewellery making process and the types-
Ivory is hard enough, in fact, harder than bone or wood, making it durable for a longer time. The top layer of the ivory is scraped off and then the piece is dipped into milk to make the surface smooth so that carvings can be easily done. In order to make the surface furthermore smoother, it is rubbed with sandpaper and placed into methyl solution. In the subsequent process, water and hydrogen peroxide are mixed together to whiten the ivory. With the regular wearing of ivory jewellery, it can become dull but can be replenished to its former look by using mineral oil to be brushed over the ivory to give it a warm glow.
Elephant Ivory - This is available in a variety of colour and quality. The age of the elephant from which the ivory is taken is vital. Out of all the elephants, the ones belonging to Africa are of the highest quality.
Hippopotamus Ivory - There is a lot of difficulty in identifying a real hippo ivory however the shades may vary from elephant ivory white to pearl shell white.
Traditions-
Ivory bangles are the most traditional item in ivory jewellery which is popular in Rajasthan and Gujarat as brides wear such bangles. In Punjab, newly married women wear chooda which has red and white coloured bangles where the white bangles traditionally should be made of ivory.
Modern style-
Ivory jewellery in the modern day has a variety of ivory pendants with engravings. Ivory rings, earrings, cuffs, hair accessories, and similar other accessories are widely worn by young women in their colleges and workplaces. The tribal designs are also some kind of a fashion statement that a lot of designers using more natural material like to pair with their garments. Gold and ivory is a great combination and looks beautiful in pendant and rings. The best thing about ivory jewellery is that it compliments ethnic as well as western outfits and every colour as well.
