How I Craft Each Piece: From Tusk Fragment to Treasure

People often ask me what it's like to work with mammoth ivory. My honest answer: it never gets old.

Every piece of fossil ivory that arrives in my studio is already a miracle — a fragment of tusk that survived 40,000 years beneath the Alaskan permafrost. My job is to honor that by turning it into something beautiful enough to carry that story forward for another lifetime.

Here's how that process works, from raw fragment to finished piece.

Step 1: Selecting the Material

Not every fragment of fossil ivory is suitable for jewelry. I source my material from the Boneyard Alaska, where each piece has its own character — its own color, grain, and mineralization pattern. Before I ever pick up a tool, I spend time with the material. I look at its length, thickness, I look for weaknesses or fractures that need stablizing or restoration before I cut it. I feel its weight. I consider what it wants to become.

Fossil ivory ranges from creamy white, butter shades to deep caramel, chocolate brown, and even rare blue-grey tones — all the result of thousands of years of mineral exchange in the earth. These natural variations aren't flaws. They're the fingerprint of deep time, and they guide every creative decision I make.

Step 2: Cutting and Shaping

Once I've chosen a fragment and envisioned the piece, I begin cutting. Fossil ivory is a dense, layered material — it requires patience and precision. I work slowly, letting the natural grain of the ivory reveal its luster rather than forcing it.

Whether I'm cutting a pendant, a cross, a cabochon for a bolo tie, or a grip for a collectible knife, the goal is always the same: to reveal what's already there. The best pieces feel like they were always inside the ivory, waiting.

Step 3: Refining and Finishing

After the initial shape is cut, I move through progressively finer grits of sanding and polishing. This is where the ivory truly comes alive. As the surface smooths, the depth of color and the complexity of the grain emerge — often in ways that surprise even me.

Fossil ivory takes a beautiful polish. The finished surface has a warmth and luminosity that no synthetic material can replicate. It feels alive in your hand in a way that's hard to describe until you've held it. This feeling is what I call "Mammoth Magic", it somehow tells a connection to deep time. Everyone experiences different feelings and awareness's. People have told me that they find themselves in a meditative state just by holding and feeling their ivory. I think this is remarkable and wonderful to share.

Step 4: Setting and Assembly

For jewelry pieces, the ivory is then set — often in sterling silver or paired with other natural stones and materials. I work with Kingman Turquoise stones the standard setter for highly matrixed Turquoise. I like pairing these two ancient and natural materials. The metal is there to support and protect; the ivory is always the star.

For collectible knives, the ivory grip is fitted and finished to ensure both beauty and function. These pieces are meant to be held, used, and passed down.

Every Piece Is One of a Kind

Because fossil mammoth ivory is a natural material with infinite variation, no two pieces are ever identical. The item you receive is the only one like it in the world — not just because I made it by hand, but because the ivory itself is irreplaceable.

That's what makes Ice Age Treasures different from mass-produced jewelry. You're not buying a style. You're acquiring a specific object with a specific history — one that began 40,000 years ago and will continue with you.

Want to learn more about where the ivory comes from? Read: The Boneyard Alaska: How 40,000-Year-Old Mammoth Ivory Becomes Wearable Art.