How to identify bakelite (the quick and easy way!)

 Bakelite and I have a long love affair. I love to find it and it likes to come home with me! 

Wearing bakelite in 2018.

Wearing bakelite bangles in March 2019.

 

Yellow sunshine.  

The far left bangle on my left hand is bakelite as is the two far right bangles on my right hand.  

The rest are other types of plastic.

 

Bakelite goes with everything, even Christmas outfits!

No really, I do love bakelite! Ever since I learnt about it through reading vintage style blogs many years ago, it has fascinated me. I remember talking to an elderly lady who regularly sells at my favourite secondhand market. She was selling a whole box of bakelite bangles that she had collected since the 1950s and 1960s. All of the different styles, colours and carved pieces dazzled me but at $60-$100 a piece, I did not take any home with me.

As this type of plastic is not made anymore, it has become quite collectable amongst vintage collectors and jewellery enthusiasts. Here's my beloved collection, all bought for a few dollars each except the big brown one (which I bought on eBay for $15) ...

After reading about bakelite online, I learnt how to identify it out in the wild (i.e in opshops or secondhand market stalls). Here are some tips I use...

1. Look for mold seams

Bakelite bangles do not have any mold seams, which can be found in the inner side of modern bangles. Bakelite bangles do have faint lines on the inner side which go in the same direction (see above).

 

2. Look for chips or scratches

Got a chip in your bangle? Not to worry, they can be used to determine whether a bangle is bakelite or not! If the piece is bakelite, then the inside of the chip should be the same colour as the outside of the bangle. See how the chip in the above bangle is brown on the inside just like the outside colour of the bangle? Modern bangles seem to be white on the inside.

 

3. The rub and sniff test

 Use your thumb to rub your possible bakelite piece until it is warm and then see if it exudes a chemical smell. This worked for me when I found my very first orange bakelite bangle (below) in a country town opshop.

 

The brown and orange bangles are both bakelite. The bracelet in-between is coral.

 4. Baking powder test

At home, you can test your bakelite by wetting an earbud and dipping it into some baking powder. Then rub the powder on the inner side of a bangle. I've tested all my plastic bangles out of curiosity and all my pieces that I know to be bakelite have left a yellow colour on the ear bud. If it is some other plastic, then the ear bud will just stay white. 

 

The above bangle proved to be bakelite, whilst the below one did not.

5. Becoming a confident expert.

When you have identified a few bakelite pieces, you will just learn how to spot it by sight. You will know the sort of colours bakelite comes in and how it feels in your hands. The last three pieces I found, I was confident they were bakelite just by looking at them and seeing the lines on the inner part of the bangle. For a few dollars each, I happily handed over my money to the opshop lady and using the baking powder method, I confirmed it was bakelite at home.

 

I hope this helps and that you discover some bakelite in your collection or out in the wild! Do let me know if these tips help you. Happy treasure hunting!

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