Artisan Dice Have Done It Again!
April 29, 2016 by stvitusdancern
OK, I know I have written about these amazing craftsmen before, but once in a while they still bring out something that makes me go wow!
This time around they show off a truly rare and decadent accessory for gaming. Are you ready? How about some Mammoth Ivory dice?
Yes, you read that right mammoth ivory that they have crafted into all of our favorite dice for all of our games. I am truly amazed on the different materials that Artisan Dice come up with to make some of the most beautiful dice in the world.
The dice polish nicely and look stunning in their own cedar case. The price tag will set you back quite a bit of your yearly gaming budget, but hey we only live once right? My only question is where do they get the ivory in the first place?
Would you get these dice if you could?
"Yes, you read that right mammoth ivory..."
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Ok, i just checked out their website and i am speechless. If i had the funds and / or credit cards to burn, they would be getting a substantial wedge for a LOT of their stuff.
Simply stunning 😀 .
I don’t see anything about regional restrictions, but there may be with ivory. I know craftspeople in my region (California, USA) who have stopped working with even fossilized ivory because it’s legally complicated.
Well, those people who like to bin ‘unlucky’ dice will have fun with these 😀
I think this is troublesome to say the least, and would even advise you to remove this information from the site. These type of “products” should not be highlighted as something desirable in my mind, considering the risk for endangered species ivory being used as “replacement” material. Even if not, it tries to promote ivory products which at least in my country are considered illegal and ethically questionable.
I understand your concerns… I will, however, give them the benefit of the doubt, given it’s easier (legally) to obtain mammoth ivory than elephant ivory (it’s really not that rare in many parts of the world). They also have bison horn dice and gator bone dice, as well as rare and exotic woods, and no list of dealers yet on their site. While I’m sure all of this is obtained through legal means, these may be rare products from endangered species, and it may clash with either legislation in some countries, or personal ethics… Personally, I am not against the… Read more »
No, I have no problems with their other products and I can understand that people can find this described one cool and unique. The problem as I really see it is that even if this specific company use correctly and ethically procured raw materials I think it promotes the use of a material which will, if its use becomes “normalised”, threaten endangered species.
Anything fossilized naturally comes from a limited supply, and here less serious supplier and/or manufacturer will be tempted to take shortcuts, especially if demand rises…
I didn’t read your last comment and do see your point @janus1004. As it is right now mammoth ivory is used for all sorts of crafts and in the video I seen, they carved little mammoth figures that look like you could get from a local craft store. They ironically looked very cheap for a material so valued.
“Anything fossilized naturally comes from a limited supply, and here less serious supplier and/or manufacturer will be tempted to take shortcuts, especially if demand rises…”
I see what you mean, but I don’t think it applies to that small niche market of ours…
Sorry to break it to you but Mammoth are not an endangered species but rather an extinct species of ancient elephant. I recommend you watch a video from Vice that talks about this very topic of the Mammoth ivory trade in europe.
As for any recent endangered animal ivory, I am confident they don’t touch that stuff as it is very illegal in most countries to have unless it predates a certain time.
They may want to make rare dice out of rare materials, but they don’t want to go to jail over it.
A very nice product! Considering the ivory comes from a mammoth I would have no poblems at all buying this product. I’m guessing the ivory comes from Russia as they find quite a bit of mammoth ivory as the Siberian permafrost is thawing. At least that’s one good thing about the worlds largets carbon dioxide soon getting released into the atmosphere 😉
As a mammoth is extinct they are no longer an endangered species and there are no problems with exporting and importing fossils. There is concern that these mass transportation of tusks is hiding the illegal transportation of elephant ivory to and from various countries and leading to more poaching in Africa
One could argue that an endangered species still needs protection from frivolous use after it’s gone extinct.
You’d be erasing the entire species from existance once the entire supply is gone, which may cause future generations to wonder if they even existed at all …
This may sound crazy, but in the near future this extinct species may raise once again like the Phoenix due to DNA research. The ironic thing is just like @limburger mentioned about supply and demand the DNA pool is getting smaller due to demand for its ivory.
That would be great actually. Then we could build a cray “park” where we collect the exotic animals and let them roam free and have people go there on safari. This park would be located on a remote island and no one would ever get eaten.
😉
While true to a point. DNA is being harvested from frozen tissue samples from extinct mammoths. There is no DNA in the ivory (at least nothing intact). The cloning of a mammoth will require the use of modern elephants as they still need an animal that can birth the new (hybrid) animal.
there may not be enough now for current tech, but we won’t know what future tech is capable of.
Once the resource is gone it’s impossible to extract or learn anything.
Mammoth Ivory eh? That’s some ancient material right there.
I hate these guys with a passion, but not for anything bad. I am so jealous I can’t get a set of any of the dice they have on sale! Forgive my covetous outlook, but they just are the best!
Agree, but I’d NEVER use the dice. They cost an arm and a leg and a kidney and a liver and a heart. But man, do they look royal!
—and mammoth ivory stinks to high heaven when wet.
Don’t spit on them dice before you roll ’em…
Priced between $248-$2000 plus. What a bite. Artisans? Thus exactly why no one buy locally produced bespoke handmade artisan stuff, because it’s over priced crap. Does look good though; but that’s beside the point.
There’s a difference between overpriced and not worth the cost to you. You’re paying for craftsmanship and materials. That’s worth the cost to those who value those things. If injection molded plastic is what you want in dice, then certainly don’t spend more than $8 but don’t be too quick to call bespoke items overpriced. They’re often making only a dollar or two to the hour for time they put in to their work. Sometimes less.