Featured Question about Lucite?

I am still having issues with trying to figure out what is what. I have been reading and reading and reading. I am sure this is a common issue with newbies. Please be patient with me.

I think if I could figure out what Bakelite is when I come by it, because of the testing capabilities. Problem is Lucite. Correct me if I am wrong, because I am trying my best to learn. Not to annoy anyone.

From what I have researched, Lucite is acrylic, chemically. Lucite is the trade name of the acrylic-plastic, when it was invented. Kind of like when my grandfather would call the refrigerator the Frigidaire? Even auto correct makes me capitalize the company names, when I use a lower case. Tissue today was once Kleenex, and some people still say: "Can you get me a Kleenex?" Is that a correct analogy or am I off?

Lucite is plastic, why do some refer to something they do not think is Lucite as regular plastic? What is regular plastic? I am sure and have learned that there are other kinds of plastic in this day and before. My question is, how can you tell if there is no way to test it? If the chemical compound is the same, they are the same thing?

When my grandfather told me to get him a beer from the Frigidaire, he was referring to the refrigerator. Same thing? Right? The difference is that the refrigerator he was telling me to get a beer from was a Frigidaire. If there is no way to test and all of the chemicals are the same, the only way to tell is if it was during a certain time period? Unlike Frigidaire, strings of beaded jewelry don't have a tag on them with the trade name Lucite. Am I understanding this correctly? Thanks in advance

 

Lucite is generally diagnosed clinically.

In other words, you can tell by looking at it.

It is not a generic term and it is not a proper noun.

 

"In practical real-world terms the type of plastic is most useful in order to determine its care (including identification or testing methods) and for what I call 'expectation of value'."
https://chatsworthlady.com/2012/06/21/vintage-plastic-jewelry-what-it-is-and-isnt/

Yes, Lucite is Kleenex is Frigidaire is Xerox.

Determining whether something is an acrylic plastic or another plastic is mostly a matter of handling different types of plastic (that have been correctly labeled) and learning their feel, weight, and appearance.

Problem is finding stuff that is accurately labeled. I used to go barking mad over mislabeled ebay items ("thermoset lucite" is NOT a thing), but it does no good.

Best thing is to read, look at pictures (check your local library for books on the topic... books don't get everything right, but they have a better batting average than the Interweb of lies), go to shows...

Find people you trust to ask. Be prepared to make mistakes.

And, honestly, unless your goal is resale, it's really not all that important (except for care, as noted above).

 

Ok, then I guess it is a proper noun?

 

To me Lucite is clear.
It can be colored, but it is not opaque.

 

I read this last time you posted it. It is probably where I learned the most on the entire internet to be honest.

I am selling jewelry, I started with my aunt's box she bought at an estate sale a few years ago but I never really got that deep into it. I sold her pieces on ebay, probably for not enough. I don't even want to think about it knowing what I know now. In the past couple months my mother in law gave me a several jewelry boxes full. Some is hers and some was her mother's. My husband thinks she and I are hoarders so I can't keep it all. So I started selling it on ebay. But I wanted to know what I was selling, so I came here for some information. Now, I want to see more of it. I have been buying it on ebay so I can see it and study it and then sell it. I can't keep it all. I have found some handmade pieces that I want to keep because they are so unique.

So I want to know some of these things because I worry about not knowing what I am selling and misrepresenting it. I want people to know what they are getting.

I wanted to buy some to feel it and smell it etc, but like you said, I worry that I will not be getting what I think I am, and will not have the correct information.

Thanks for the response!

 

https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-distinguish-between-contemporary-lucite-vintage/

 

Yep.

I think that was once true... but I'm not even certain about that. It's all part of that "define lucite in vintage jewelry" problem... Generally, the pieces that get labeled "thermoset lucite" are opaque. The label is rubbish because lucite is thermoplastic, but I don't actually know what those pieces are. Are they some PMMA/MMA like lucite? I dunno.

Is "moonglow lucite" opaque? I dunno. I don't even know if it's lucite! But I know it when I see it.

Then I'm back to my "read books" recommendation.

And wait for people who actually sell jewelry to respond.

 

It can be opaque, as well...


I kind of think of it as the fine crystal of plastics. A good piece of crystal will be dead still compared to lesser quality... Once you see it, you don't forget it. It even sounds different... Same with "plastics."

It may sound weird, but I think having handled plastic, Lucite and Bakelite jewelry and Collectibles in NOT great condition has helped just as much as anything I've read in books.

I test myself in antique malls against sellers' labels. Not just jewelry, I look at salt and peppers, etc. Again, condition runs the gamut and you can get a sense the quality of the materials and the eras when they were popular.

Sounds goofy, but it's fun!

 

I have to say, this is a style of article that I tend to dismiss out of hand. I'd wager that the author knows a lot more about writing, search engine strategies, and ad sales than about vintage jewelry.

It's a problem of the internet-- there's money to be made off specialized content, so people produce content that contains sought after search phrases.

Sadly, it's possible to write volumes without saying anything.

 

Jelly Belly jewelry is made with clear lucite ONLY, although you'll find all sorts of bits labeled jelly these days, but lucite comes in all colors both clear and opaque. That was the original idea. You'll find some bits of it hand carved too, and some of those can be pricey. Bakelite is older, and once you've handled enough of all of the above you'll pretty well know it when you find it.

 

OMG, I forgot about those bags. I used to have one of the pearlized ones. Picked it up for a couple of bucks somewhere and then gave it a kid who thought it was the most beautiful thing ever.

It was before ebay.

 

Those purses are amazing, I never really get bored with them even though I have no reason to buy one.

I can't be trusted to tote a bag in my hand, so I'm a cross body satchel type

 

I've had a few of them. They sell a lot better than they hold all my junk.

 

I need boxes for my boxes :/

 

I guess I'm old school. Lucite is a trade name.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/lucite

What it was really developed for, before being utilized in other areas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(methyl_methacrylate)

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/costume-jewelry/lucite

I did too. Didn't read too far down.

Totally agree.
Also agree with handling things to learn about them.

And the example of the purse. I had forgotten those are Lucite and you're right, they are opaque. But they are a different feel and look than other plastics.

Until you've handled them, it is hard to explain.

 

I was talking to my dad about a piece of jewellery and he was trying to look interested and failing until I mentioned Lucite and he said 'We are British, over here we call it Perspex not Lucite' and proceeded to give me a lecture on acrylic plastics. He's a chemist so I glazed over shortly after that......

 

Some of the mid century coasters were made of lucite from what I gather and they had a see thru brownish kind of appearance to them with a cork or string or cord center where your drink would sit. They are still quite popular it seems for those with mid century taste. I found a bunch of them NOS NIP years ago and it seems that a cigarette company gave them out as a promo to some restaurants. I don't remember which cig co it was now.
That's all I got, and probably doesn't help at all.

 

Wait until you need to figure out if a piece of jewelry is made of:

Vulcanite


Jet


Gutta percha

Or bog oak...