Mammoth ivory jewellery heading for extinction

Ivory from the long-extinct woolly mammoth is a cult phenomenon in fine jewellery, favoured by independent designers such as Bibi van der Velden, Jessica Cushman and Derrick Cruz of Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons.

Not only is it a novelty, with its prehistoric provenance, but it is also regarded as “ethical” and “cruelty-free”. When she wore a mammoth ivory piece by Monique Péan in 2010, Michelle Obama was considered principled by commentators.

However, in recent months, and in New York State in particular, such sentiment has changed. Elephant poaching in Africa is threatening the species and last year the US federal government strengthened existing laws on the sale of ivory — although it chose not to ban mammoth ivory. The New York State government decided that the federal ban did not go far enough, and accordingly it included mammoth ivory in the state ban. The state of New Jersey has also implemented a ban.

The problem is that, in theory, elephant ivory could be passed off as mammoth. In a statement, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says: “It is difficult to distinguish mammoth ivory from elephant ivory, and requires rigorous analysis. In addition, articles fashioned from elephant ivory can be altered to resemble mammoth ivory. Because of these factors, mammoth ivory was included to promote effective enforcement of the new law’s provisions.”

However, jewellers argue that the two ivories are very different and there should be no risk of confusion. Before the legislation was enacted, Ms Péan’s chief operating officer contacted the author of the bill, Robert Sweeney of the New York State Assembly, expressing concern about the inclusion of mammoth ivory as a banned material. But in August, the law to combat the illegal ivory trade and protect endangered species was passed.

The bill amends the environmental conservation law to prohibit the sale, purchase, trade, barter and distribution of ivory and rhino horn articles, with the definition of “ivory articles” including elephant and mammoth ivory.

Los Angeles-based jeweller Sylva Yepremian, who uses the ivory in her Sylva & Cie collection, says she has not yet withdrawn the material from all the stores that carry her work, but fears it will soon be banned throughout the US.

Jessica Cushman, a US jeweller who uses mammoth ivory from Alaska for her scrimshaw — or engraved ivory — bracelets, believes only her New York business will be affected.

She says: “Making mammoth ivory available can only help reduce the demand for elephant ivory as it provides a viable alternative.”

Like Ms Cushman, New York City-based jeweller Derrick Cruz uses mammoth ivory for his scrimshaw jewellery, which sells under his label Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons. “I like it when mammoth pieces feature brown or green oxide, which is something that you don’t get with elephant ivory. Plus there’s a softness to the material from it having been under ice,” he says. These details and others make the material distinguishable from elephant ivory.

It is not only US jewellers who are affected. Bibi van der Velden, who is based in Amsterdam, found out about the ban when she was asked to remove her pieces from the ranges of two leading retailers in North America.

When she launched her fine jewellery collection in 2009, mammoth ivory was rarely seen and there was some confusion. But she believes that US customs staff are adept at distinguishing between the two.

However, Mr Sweeney of the New York State Assembly says that, before the bill became law, the hearing was told by environmental organisations of elephant ivory that had been passed off as mammoth ivory by smugglers.

He rejects the assertion that the two ivories are easily distinguishable, pointing out that a senior officer from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US conservation agency, told the hearing that the only way to determine definitively the difference between mammoth and elephant ivory was through laboratory analysis. “Conversations with law enforcement officers indicated the difficulty of enforcement when mammoth ivory would still be permitted to be sold,” he says.

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Costly material

Prices of mammoth ivory vary, explains Esmond Martin, a Kenyan wildlife trade expert, who has, with co-author Lucy Vigne, carried out research on the subject in China.

He says mammoth ivory fetches an average price of $1,900 per kilo in Beijing paid by factories or carvers. Bibi van der Velden says the price she pays for good-quality raw mammoth ivory is substantially more — approximately $1,000 for 500 grams. She says that only the core of a tusk is good enough to be used for jewellery, other parts are unsuitable because they are damaged or discoloured — the result of contact with air after thousands of years preserved under ice.

The pieces are then carved and set with gold and stones. Ms van der Velden’s mammoth ivory sea snake ring retails at $3,560, although it was withdrawn from sale from Bergdorf Goodman, the department store, as a result of the New York State ban.