Antique jewelry glossary

Welcome to our extensive antique jewelry glossary with around 1,500 jewelry related entries.If you feel you are missing an explanation, feel free to let us know and we will add it.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z     all

Fossil ivory

A variety of ivory from the tusk of the mammoth or the walrus that has been buried long enough to have acquired a yellow, sepia, variegated or blackish colour, but is not actually fossilized. It is found mainly in the frozen ground of Siberia, and is brittle and often cracked, with a tendency to turn yellow.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson