Celluloid, Bakelite, Lucite and other vintage plastics

[TheKitschGoth]

Hooray, I just acquried my first piece of early plastic jewellery.
It's a stunning Lea Stein celluloid fox brooch:

I've searched for a bit of info and apparently she was a French designer
who was active in the 50's but was heavily inspired by art deco style.
Is anyone familiar with this designer?

I've got a near identical brooch to that, except it's silver and has a matching black necklace, my friend found it in H&M for me.

 

[Laura Chase]

Are you sure it's bakelite? In my years of collecting and researching bakelite, I've never seen a bakelite brooch like that before. The other thing that makes me question it is that white bakelite very rarely ever stays white over the years. White bakelite almost always turns a creamy yellow or ivory color from contact with sun and skin. It is extremely rare to see a white piece of bakelite. The only way a piece of white bakelite will stay white is if it's been in a drawer untouched and it's never seen sun, which is pretty much a very hard thing to do.

Here's some more info:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Bakelite-am...0000748322?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:5

No, I'm not sure it's bakelite, and from what you are saying, it probably is not. It's my friend's and it feels like plastic, but still not really, it's a bit cooler to touch. What could it be? Have you seen brooches like this before? Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Kitty_Sheridan]

A few of mine..I mainly collect sweetheart brooches here in the UK, but I have one or two bakelite/celluloid badges/brooches

and also home made RAF wings made from aircraft perspex

and these wartime badges made from buttons and some sort of wiring!

I'm just a hoarder! help me!

 

[BeBopBaby]

I just got a new digital camera and took these pics while playing with my new toy. Here are some of my bakelite babies:

The brown clamper on the left I bought at a church sale for 50 cents when I was a little girl many moons ago. To the right of it, the end of the day bakelite bracelet has roses carved on it. It's hard to see in the pic. I didn't pay more than a couple of dollars for any of these bracelets. Most came from thrift store junk jewelry bins in the era before eBay and the Antiques Roadshow. The one exception is the reverse carved & painted applejuice stretch bracelet on the right. It was a gift from my mom, she bought it from a little old lady for $30.

 

[BeBopBaby]

Here are some of my other lucite 50s bracelets:

The white clamper is a confetti lucite with tiny sea shells in it.

The bracelet in the middle isn't lucite, but it is also a 50s era plastic. The bracelet is made of tiny pineapples strung together. It's a favorite of mine.

 

[Lady Day]

*buuuuuump*

LD

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Hi! I have a three-color bakelite dress clip that is in two pieces. I'm considering the ol' superglue route, but is there a better, less crappy way to fix it? Is there a person out there who fixes bakelite? Or alternatively, simply a better glue to try? I don't want to ruin it by fixing it!

Edited to add crappy image:

 

[pdxvintagette]

Don't go the superglue route for sure! I have a bakelite and lucite handbag that someone superglued the legs onto. The strangest thing happened - the plastic now "sweats" on the inside and is getting strange and dried out.

There is a plastic weld available at speciality crafts stores that I have heard is the best adhesive fix for bakelite. I would look into that instead!

Hi! I have a three-color bakelite dress clip that is in two pieces. I'm considering the ol' superglue route, but is there a better, less crappy way to fix it? Is there a person out there who fixes bakelite? Or alternatively, simply a better glue to try? I don't want to ruin it by fixing it!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Whatever adhesive you use, careful buffing and polishing after the repair will make a world of difference -- a fine Scotchbrite pad with a tiny dab of Brasso on it can work wonders.

 

[Lily Powers]

Bakelite makes me happy. Broke, but happy. Wouldn't hurt to check with vintage car restorers - many old cars had bakelite gear shift knobs, radio faces and dials, etc. - they might know of a way to repair it or have some special adhesive they could recommend.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Plastic weld, eh? I'll look into it.

 

[KittyT]

Plastic weld, eh? I'll look into it.

Use E6000

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I do like that stuff. Have you used it on vintage plastic? Or is that what PDX means by "plastic weld"?

 

[MetroRetroVtg]

Hi! I have a three-color bakelite dress clip that is in two pieces. I'm considering the ol' superglue route, but is there a better, less crappy way to fix it? Is there a person out there who fixes bakelite? Or alternatively, simply a better glue to try? I don't want to ruin it by fixing it!

Edited to add crappy image:

If the parts have 'weight', you may want to try E6000 glue, since it dries clear and is thick and viscous enough to hold together heavier items.

If the parts are lightweight, then you may want to try the standard G-S Hypo Cement, most often used for cementing stones and other minor costume jewelry repairs.

 

[swinggal]

bump!

 

[Miss sofia]

Your favourite Bakelite jewellery.

I thought i would start this thread, as i love Bakelite jewellery. If there's one thing guaranteed to set my pulse racing it's early plastic jewellery in all it's myriad forms! So please feel free to share your treasures.

 

[Miss sofia]

A recent-ish acquisition. Butterscotch bakelite hoop earrings. Mmmm.

Thirties celluloid Scotty pin. One of my favourites.

 

[LinaSofia]

excellent idea!! You've got to love the bakelite! I'll kick off by sharing some of my collection (which isn't very big, but a work in progress!).

And funnily enough... here are a pair of earrings I bought on Ebay tonight! I just had to have them, there's something about the bakelite bead, the sweet 30s styling and the carved scull!

They'll go nicely with this bangle I already own.

And my favourite and most worn bakelite piece is my butterscotch scotty dog (I also have a black one that gets less wear for some reason).

I also own an assortment of bakelite earrings, but unfortunately I'm so allergic to the metal backs that I can't really wear them very often on the earrings above I'm going to swap the hooks for sterling silver ones, but all my other bakelite earrings are clip-ons that aren't easily changed, although I'm sure it could be done!

 

[LinaSofia]

I have very similar earrings! And that's a lovely scotty!!

 

[Wire9Vintage]

Drool.

Ive always had a soft spot for bakelite anything, but I have very little myself, sadly. I'm enjoying the eye candy!