Q–My mother’s dresser set of comb, brush and mirror is embossed with the words, “Ivory Pyralin.” Is that real ivory? A–Ivory Pyralin is a kind of plastic made between 1900 and World War I. No real ...

that collected on hairbrushes. They were prized for being functional and decorative. Today, it is rare to go into anyone's home and still see a dresser set in use. Nonetheless, they are lovely and ...

Despite international bans, thousands of African elephants are illegally killed each year for their tusks. Could finding a human-made alternative be the answer? My parents often talk about their ...

A UNITED States-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) welcomed a BBC report this month that Austrian scientists have developed a new artificial ivory product, called Digory, that looks and feels ...

You’d be hard-pressed to think of a material that’s more contentious than ivory, the hard, white material most commonly taken from the tusks of elephants. Outlawed around the world since 1989, ivory ...

Because synthetic and authentic ivory are so similar, unscrupulous traders caught smuggling illegal ivory can claim that it is synthetic; they can also pass off synthetic ivory as genuine when they ...