Colorful early plastic is very available, mostly affordable and downright beautiful!
Bakelite
Bakelite hit the market in 1907, heralding the arrival of the modern plastics industry. Bakelite was the first completely man made plastic, as until then, plastics such as celluloid, casein, and Gutta-Percha all had as a base a natural material. It was developed by Belgian chemist Dr. Leo Hendrick Baekeland, who started his firm General Bakelite Company to produce the phenolic resin type plastic. Early Bakelite was used almost exclusively in the manufacture of radios, appliances and electrical components because it was lightweight, inexpensive, durable, moisture-resistant and non-flammable. The limited color range of black, brown, and the occasional burgundy and dark green was adequate for use as radio cabinets, vacuum cleaner parts, and lighting elements, but eventually, formulas were developed to produce the plastic in a range of appealing colors. Its ability to be carved and molded made it ideal for inexpensive jewelry. Early jewelry attempted to mimic more expensive materials such as ivory, amber, onyx, and jade, but by the 1930’s, consumers began to appreciate the plastic for its own qualities and Bakelite jewelry made its appearance everywhere from Sears to Saks 5th Avenue.
Colorful Art Deco Gems
Artists and designers discovered the beauty and workability of Bakelite (and Catalin, a competitor who also produced a phenolic resin plastic). New technology created additional colors, and the plastic became available in scarlet, green, amber, brown, burgundy, red-orange, Kelly green, black and marbled. By 1934, yet another plastics company had produced a formula for Bakelite in pastel colors including willow green, light blue, pink and yellow. Due to the unstable nature of the chemicals used in the formula, these pastel pieces are hard to find, and are among the most costly of Bakelite jewelry.
Bakelite Jewelry & Values
Bakelite could be molded, carved, or laminated, and designers turned to the material for brightly colored, inexpensive flights of fancy to adorn everything from wrists to waists. Necklaces featured beads in a variety of sizes and colors, sometimes terminating in carved or laminated pendants. A popular choker style necklace consisted of pairs of bright red cherries on celluloid stems and leaves dangling from a celluloid chain ($150-300.) Bracelets were stretchy, cuff, charm, wrap or tank-track styles. Stretchy bracelets consisted of beads or lozenges strung on elastic. Cuff styles could be wide and deeply carved, or narrower bands intended to be stacked together. The band could be smooth, molded (into a usually geometric pattern), carved, or pierced, with pierced being the hardest to find. Wrap bracelets were beads strung on wire, and tank-track bracelets featured overlapping semi-circular links. A quick check on eBay turned up bracelets on offer in prices ranging from $50-300. Deeply carved, wide red cuffs seem to fetch the highest prices, followed by amber, then green. A variety of pins were produced, either whimsical figurals or geometrics. The Art Deco love affair with the Scottie Dog was evident. Horses also had a strong presence, but pins of elephants, penguins, marlins, and yes, cherries are also available. Pins range in price from $118 for a lovely carved leaf, $130 for a carrot, $102 for a red horse head, and an almost shockingly low $18 for a classic Scottie in red.
Bakelite Jewelry Affordable (Again)!
Prices reached almost ludicrous levels in the early 1990’s, and the jewelry became so sellable that other Bakelite pieces such as poker chips, Tootsie Toys and Mah Jong tiles were frequently fashioned into jewelry. The market seems to have cooled, meaning that it’s once again possible to buy a plastic cuff for less than a gold one.
References:
Collectible Fashions of the 1930's Ellie Laubner, Schiffer Books 1990
Price Guide to Plastic Collectibles Lyndi Stewart McNulty Wallace, Homestead Book Company 1987
