They could be Galalith or Celluloid instead of Bakelite. Galalith in particular was used for a lot of French costume jewelry in the interwar period, and was in use before Bakelite, in the period 1895 onwards.
Hard to tell what color the plastic curved pieces are - are they black, or translucent?
The plastic bits are green, I have done the hot water test and they smell like phenolic resin as a posed to either celluloid or casein. What do you think of the age?
I’m not a costume jewelry expert, so that’s a guess.
Also -from what I’ve read, there were still many Bakelite articles being made after WWII, with the steep decline (in favor of other plastics like Lucite) starting about 1960, when major phenolic resin factories began shutting down.
There’s an assumption, which I believe is correct, that during the war, production of luxury goods like costume jewelry (and also trade beads of various kinds) in Europe either ceased or was reduced drastically. However I also think that once the war ended, there could have been a large spike in production due to pent-up demand, and the desire to start earning income as fast as possible. There may have been unused stock from pre-1940 that was put into post-1945 items.
Just some hypotheses on my part...
The plastic bits are green, I have done the hot water test and they smell like phenolic resin as a posed to either celluloid or casein. What do you think of the age?
The faux baroque pearls and emerald green spacers are delicious but:
I find myself wondering about the large curved bits in front. Questioning because I do not recall seeing them from costume jewelry made prior to the 1980's.
