| Original Message: Almost impossible to tell from photos; look like fairly new polyester resin beads, China |
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However you can try several odor tests to try to nail down the material. First, run the beads under very hot water ( not boiling) until they are heated up. Sniff the beads immediately to detect the odor. New polyester resin will smell faintly of styrene, as will polystyrene resin. Bakelite has the odor of phenol, a musty, medicinal odor. There are some new prayer beads being made from Bakelite type resins on the market, but they are normally finely machined and smaller. It helps if you have some known beads on hand for the odor comparison. You can do a similar test by heating a sewing needle to red hot and plunging it into the Bead in an inconspicuous spot like inside a hole. Be careful sniffing the fumes. If the hot needle does not penetrate easily into the bead it is most likely either a cross linked polyester resin or a phenolic resin (Bakelite). It does not appear to me that there is any significant oxidation on these, but there again it’s hard to tell from pictures. Let us know what you find out! All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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