Also recently obtained some wheel-shaped and cross-drilled diamond beads of a light yellow plastic that is identified as Bakelite on several sites. The wheel shaped beads are identical in shape to many Bakelite beads and appear on the web in several places as large strands, sometime graduated. One site called them "Lemon Amber". Maybe they've been around for some time but I just noticed them and it seems they are popping up now. Since the plastic is not very abrasion resistant, the beads have a worn & pitted surface. And the holes in the diamond-shaped beads have elongated, very much like antique natural amber.

This is somewhat of a repeat since I posted this before - but I sent one of the diamond-shaped beads to a plastics test lab and they identified it as High Impact Polystyrene or HIPS. The high impact part is due to the addition of a rubbery polymer to increase the impact strength. That also makes the polymer opaque.

These beads may date to the 1960's. That would explain the wear and patina.