Posted 8 years ago
pcmadison191
(45 items)
I revived this ivory heart choker necklace as a gift from some retired antique dealers as a gift for helping them. They didn't know anything about it only that her mother in law acquired before the early 1990's. I added the little gold clasp so I can wear it but other then that I haven't changed anything or even cleaned the necklace. I would love to know more about the necklace like age, origin and any other history thank you for your time.
-Madison
Not possible to give you any history on it due to a total lack of background information. As for origin, it is more likely to have been made overseas than in the USA. The fittings look to be made of a base metal rather than silver, but after a cleaning they might look different. There is nothing about the design which gives a clue about a specific country. Date wise, I would place it at the early part of the 20th century. It's a very nice necklace.
The necklace itself is definitely ivory but there's no telling how old it is - it could be older or have been made recently (just before the import ban) and artificially aged. I think the heart pendant is not original to the necklace and may even be bone, can't see very well in those photos.
I also wondered if it might be bone because it's quite dark on one side.
I can't tell if the heart is Ivory or bone but it looks and feels the same as the necklace. When you look at the necklace in person you can tell its been worn a lot the inside of the necklace is a lot darker then the outside.
This past Monday on ARS they showed an item that the owner thought was ivory. The expert said not ivory, and pointed out tiny black marks covering the surface. He said those marks were indicative of a bone item, and they were bone marrow.
So..based on his expertise, I think this is ivory.
Looking online the darker ivory colours seem to be from Northern climes - Alaska for instance. Walrus ivory is used for jewellery, Also it's possible to get Mammoth tusk jewellery (no export/import restrictions)
Hi. It may be a long shot and a long time after you asked about this piece but think I might recognise this necklace and know a little about its background. Do you happen to know if the dealer's mother in law acquired it from the uk at the end of the 1990s? If I'm right, the heart was added at a later date.