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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Joan, post: 4464048, member: 5398&quot;]It looks like it wants to be bakelite, but like Ownedbybear said, the clasp/extender makes it look more recent. I&#039;ve never seen bakelite beads with a pearlized finish (only lucite and celluloid), but I suppose it&#039;s possible they could be restrung vintage bakelite beads, especially because of the color and the way they&#039;re cut and graduated.</p><p><br /></p><p>Is the necklace on the heavy side? Do the beads make kind of a clunky sound when handled? Bakelite is heavier than lucite, celluloid, and newer plastics. You could run the beads under hot water and see if they have a chemical (formaldehyde) smell--in which case they&#039;re most likely bakelite or catalin--if there&#039;s no smell they&#039;re not. There are other tests for bakelite such as rubbing it with a cotton swab dampened with a little Simichrome polish, 409 cleaner, or baking soda. If the cotton swab turns yellow, the beads are bakelite or catalin. If not bakelite/catalin, they could be restrung 1940&#039;s-50&#039;s-60&#039;s lucite or celluloid beads. Probably hard to date them unless you happen to run across some new necklaces that look the same.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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