Tips about bone necklaces?

Question

A friend of mine from Wisconsin mailed me a bone necklace as a gift yesterday.

The bone in the necklace stunk when I got it.

Plus it has started to rot (it's yellowing and has some tiny cracks/holes in it).

My brother suggested to plaster it with some sort of plaster, but I wanted to prevent it from rotting.

He also said to:

1. Polish the bone.

2. Clean the bone with a toothbrush and some toothpaste.

3. To remove stink, cleanse/dip/surround the bone with a substance (he suggested citric acid and rubbing acholol).

[P.S. He is only a kid so just don't ridicule his suggestions.]

What do I do besides those options to remove the stink and preserve the bone?

Answer 1

HI there,

Your brother has some good ideas and I know he is trying to help.   I do believe that because the bone is an organic material,  it will tend to have an odor.  I would not use toothpaste or smearing it with plaster, as that is going to ruin the bone texture.   What I would do is use the toothbrush and a very mild soap... maybe even shamoo.   Brush it thoroughly, warm water rinse about three times and gently towel dry the best you can.  Then let the necklace lay out in the sun for a day.    The following day,  check to see if the oder has gotten milder.  If you still detect the smell... let the necklace lay in the sun another couple of days... bringing it in at night.   It will lose most of the smell,  but I don't think it will completely never smell, because as I mentioned, it is organic.  I do think the smell will get milder and will begin to bother you less.

Really sounds like a nice gift.