These work pretty well on old phenolic resin:

1) wet a q-tip (lightly) with 409 and rub it on an inconspicuous spot. If the q-tip turns yellow, it is phenolic resin. I have not gotten this to work on fairly new phenolic resin bead, only the old (pre WWII) ones. The 409 will take patina off old beads, so be very sparing with how much you get on it.

2) run the bead under really hot water for about 30-60 seconds, then smell it. If it smells like formaldehyde, you have a phenolic resin bead. It's hard to describe the smell if you've never smelt it - but it's pretty putrid. The hot water may also ruin patina, so you may not want to do this.

3) hot needle test - heat a needle to red hot and touch inside the hole. If the needle sinks in at all, it is NOT phenolic resin, which does not melt. If it's amber, you will smell a pleasant pine smell. If it smells like burning plastic - it's some kind of plastic that will melt and therefore not phenolic or amber. I've never tried this on a wood bead but I imagine you'll recognize the smell of burnt wood.

Would love to see the bead in person - are you planning on attending any of our local bead meetings? I can't make the May meeting but June is likely.