I thought these might be lamp worked glass at first. They have clear yellow cores with an opaque body and a clear yellow case. They feel like bakelite, but Simichrome disagrees.

The ridges look like they were cut across with a lathe and then carved and sanded down. Lots of work one would think - but they are not identical. There are variations in the distances between marks and in the thumbnail ridges going around each bead.

Anyone seen such beads before?

Many thanks BCN.