We often tend to dismiss plastic as a jewelry making supply and consider it cheap but did you know that early forms of plastic and other natural occurring or synthetically created polymer jewelry were prized possession in the late 19th and early 20th century? Did you know about the many different Types of Vintage Plastic jewelry materials?
During the 1920’s, Auguste Bonaz, a French merchant, produced unusually beautiful chains and brooches made of galalith, chromium and bakelite. Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli took the world by a storm with their costume jewelry that included beautiful plastics. How can we forget the retro Plastic jewelry of the eighties that was big, bold and completely out there? Still we shy away from it. With this thought in mind, I want to show you some beautiful Vintage jewelry from various Etsy Shops that are made out of plastic.
Bakelite: The first time I looked at a book on designer western costume jewelry in 2003 I found bakelite being used. I was shocked for as far I knew then bakelite was used to make electrical switches. Bakelite considered as The first true synthetic plastic was developed by Dr. Leo H Baekeland in 1909. Later in 1927 US Catalin corporation came up with transparent versions and coloring techniques such as marbling. Also known as Catalin, prystal, durez or marbelette these give off a distinct smell.
Lucite – Lucite that is very commonly used to make lucite flowers was made as PMMA in 1930s as an alternative to glass. It was later marketed as plexiglass or perspex. Lucite is brighter and glossier compared to bakelite and is treasured for its transparency.
Vulcanite:
Science nerds like me would recognise vulcanite – another special jewelry polymer. Developed through vulcanisation and Patented as ebonite it was often used in mourning jewelry as an alternative to ebony as it was originally made in black. Now you can find it in various colors too
Polyvinyl Chloride resin commonly known as Vinyl or PVC is also a plastic that is a lost cost, water resistant, durable materials. Its most used for Piping now, though Vinyl records and flooring was common a few years back.
Gutta percha– made from the sap of gutta tree like rubber gutta is used as an alternative to ebony and jet black
Galalith
In 1898, Wilhelm Krische, was commissioned to develop white school boards that could be wiped off but that would not burn. This owner of a factory that made history books experimented with the milk Protein casein and formaldehyde and patented one of the first plastics – The “Milk Stone” or the Galalith. The milk stone could be cut, drilled, embossed and dyed producing gemstone imitations that looked strikingly real and was favoured by Coc chanel for her designs. Read more about this marvelous material at Ganoksin
Celluloid
Known as“French Ivory” celluloid was invented in the late 19th century to make billiard balls, which were traditionally made of ivory. Made using cellulose dinitrate blended with pigments, fillers, camphor and alcohol, celluloid is an extremely flammable substance,reported to emit fumes that can damage metal, specifically that used in jewelry and knife blades. Alexander Parkes is legally credited with inventing the process by which Celluloid is made and celluloid is still used to make guitar picks
Thus we come to the end of my list of Types of Vintage Plastic jewelry materials but there are many more vintage and new age plastics that can be molded, dyed, cut or textured to create beautiful pieces. So tell me, do you use plastic in your work? If not, has this article changed your mind about considering it?
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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