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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Joan, post: 609839, member: 5398&quot;]I bought this necklace recently for $5 at an antique show and am trying to figure out if the beads are dyed amber or bakelite. I rubbed a q-tip with Simichrome on one of the beads and it turns reddish-orange, which seems like the beads must have been dyed. When I&#039;ve used Simichrome on red bakelite beads, the q-tip turns yellow (not reddish-orange).</p><p><br /></p><p>I see a lot of similar necklaces listed on eBay that are called &quot;cherry amber bakelite,&quot; but this one seems too lightweight for bakelite (59 grams). </p><p><br /></p><p>It has an old sterling silver clasp and should be restrung, but I&#039;m wondering if I should leave it on the original string with spaces between the knots so potential buyers can see that it&#039;s old. The beads are also really dirty (I cleaned/polished the largest one). I ran it under hot water and it doesn&#039;t smell like formaldehyde (but some of the other beads I have that test positive for bakelite with Simichrome don&#039;t smell like formaldehyde under hot water).&nbsp; I also tried the static test with a piece of tissue, and the beads attracted the tissue, but that also happens with bakelite.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I shined a 9UV 405 nm flashlight on it and the color didn&#039;t fluoresce, but from some online research I&#039;ve done, not all amber fluoresces.&nbsp; I&#039;m tempted to cut the string and see if a single bead floats in salt water (which I&#039;ve done with a real amber bead). But maybe someone on this forum can tell me if this type of faceted &quot;cherry amber&quot; bead necklace is never real amber.&nbsp; Any help will be appreciated.[ATTACH=full]179324[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]179325[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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