Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Another Bakelite Beauty!

While I know that my blog is called I Love Vintage Housewares, I will on occasion throw some other kinds of stuff on here, just to mix it up a little and keep you on your toes!
I ran into my local thrift shop just to do a quick scan when I found this little gem:


It was only $7 and I was pretty sure at the store that it was genuine Bakelite (I posted about my first Bakelite find here), but I couldn't confirm it.  I would have done the smell test, but I have a really bad sense of smell so I couldn't use my sniffer and I thought it would be sketchy to go up to someone and ask them, "does this bracelet smells like burnt hair when I rub it?"  Just typing it feels weird.
Anyway, because of the color, weight and sound, I was pretty sure it was real, but I still had to confirm it.  An article I found here said to soak a cotton swab with 409 and gently rub the inside of the bracelet.  If it turned yellow, then it is genuine.  Well "hot dog" I thought, "I have some of that under the sink."  I tested it on one I knew was real, and one I knew was regular old plastic.  The plastic didn't react, but the known real one and the new one above did.  I have to do some research to see what chemical is reacting with what, but as of right now, I am pretty sure that I picked up a terrific Bakelite bangle for super cheap!

I'm going to head over to join Vintage Thingie Thursday over at The Colorado Lady and check out the other links!

3 comments:

  1. Regardless of what it is made of, it is a very pretty bracelet.

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  2. Hi Melissa - just read several of your posts. Good finds indeed. I think I will try Bartenders Friend, your got great results in cleaning that bowl.
    Joy

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