The History of Bakelite Jewelry

Bakelite was the first synthetic resin ever successfully produced.

Bakelite blasted on the scene in 1907, thanks to the machinations of Belgian-born American chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Baekeland's Bakelite was the first synthetic resin. Resins up till that point were based on natural materials. Bakelite was made from combining phenol (from coal tar) with formaldehyde (from wood alcohol). Soon, the inflammable compound was showing up in parts for the electric power industry and in appliances for the home. The 1920s saw its use in radio cabinetry, knobs and circuit panels. You could even find the new resin in the electrical systems of early cars. It wasn't until the 1930s that Bakelite was cast and therefore made into jewelry and other novelties.

Function

In 1910, Baekeland formed a business and called it General Bakelite Company. He wasn't the first to play around with phenolic resins, however. In 1872, German chemist Adolf von Baeyer was among the first to focus on these resins, but he was only ever able to produce unstable liquids or brittle solids, failing to take development to the next level. Baekeland found a way to control the phenol-formaldehyde condensation reaction that would lead to the creation of the first synthetic resin.

Significance

Baekeland publicly announced his invention in 1909 in front of the American Chemical Society. Soon after, he was producing the stuff semi-commercially in his lab. Bakelite was an infusible and insoluble wonder. With a plastics market of highly flammable celluloid, Bakelite became the new dream material that everyone wanted.

Identification

The resin in Bakelite readily accepts inert ingredients, which means it can be easily altered with the admixture of a range of fillers. For Bakelite used in such items as bracelets and napkin rings--that is, in molded parts--wood flour was the filler of choice. However, when an item needed to be heat resistant and quite strong, fillers such as asbestos and cut fabric were employed. Given this adding of fillers to the resin, Bakelite products tended to give an opaque and dark-colored effect.

Types

According to the website Bakelite--Delight, at the time of the Depression, jewelers and craftspeople who had an eye for fashioning jewelry or other decorative items from Bakelite would order it as cylinders and blocks. Bakelite was then ground and carved into such products as animal napkin holders, salt and pepper sets and handles for flatware. You could find it formed into brooches, rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, buttons and dress clips. Bakelite was an ideal stand-in for gold and silver jewelry that people could no longer afford, ranging in price from a few cents to a couple of dollars.

Considerations

The patent for Bakelite expired in 1927, says Encyclopaedia Britannica. A company called Catalin purchased the rights to the Bakelite process. A much greater range of colors was added to the resin. Bakelite-Catalin was popular and successful until the entry of the United States into World War II, when production shifted to making items the armed forces would use, which meant more somber--even black--pieces. As it happens, acrylic and lucite became the rage after the war. Catalin and Bakelite were all but forgotten. Catalin and Marblette are trade names for small variations in the original Bakelite resin formula, which can be bought under the names Catalin and Marblette.

References

• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bakelite
• Bakelite---Delight: What Is Bakelite?