You can also use a microscope, but these tend to be more expensive than a magnifying glass, especially if your bone or ivory piece is large.
If you are using a microscope, set it up according to the instructions and focus the lens until the details on the piece become sharp and clear.
Pores will look like very small dots or holes covering the surface of your piece.
Bone and ivory can weigh the same. If a piece feels solid and heavy, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s ivory. This does, however, serve as an indicator that it might be one of the two. If you’re unsure whether the item feels appropriately solid, use a scale to weigh it. While the weight of different types of ivory can vary, popular types of ivory, such as tusks, generally weigh about 1. 4 pounds (0. 64 kg) per 1 inch (2. 5 cm) in length. [5] X Research source
While it is rare, there are some replica or synthetic materials that might also appear white under a black light, so you will need to perform multiple tests to be sure that your piece is authentic bone or ivory.
Although some types of bone can feel as smooth as ivory, most do not. Bone is porous and therefore, tends to feel slightly rougher than ivory. If your piece feels buttery smooth to the touch, this may be an indication that the item is ivory, but you will still need to do additional testing to confirm. [7] X Research source While bone can be as durable as ivory, this is not always the case. You may be able to easily break a small bone, for example, but it is unlikely that you would be able to break a small piece of ivory. When examining your piece for hardness, use extra care, as synthetic and bone pieces may be easily damaged.
Some faux ivory or bone pieces are manufactured with a yellowish tint in order to appear authentic. As a result, additional testing is necessary to confirm that your piece is either bone or ivory, as well as to determine which of these two materials it is.
