The Evolution of Plastic Jewelry

Bakelite, celluloid, and Lucite are the most common forms of plastic jewelry.

These materials have been used for making jewelry and other items, such as radios, kitchenware, pipes, toys, and both women’s and men’s personal items such as dresser sets and shaving items.

Manufacturers of plastic jewelry are for the most part unknown; very few companies marked these items until the more recent times.

The word "plastic" comes from the Greek Plastikos: to mold or form. Plastic can be defined in a broader term as an inherently formless material which can be shaped under heat and pressure.

Plastic materials can be divided into two groups:

Natural: Amber, horn, tortoiseshell, and insect secretions that are used to make shellac.

Synthetic: Bakelite, casein, cellulose and Lucite .

Gutta percha and rubber in its simplest form are conditions.

Plastic has been used since ancient times for jewelry making, with Amber, ivory and tortoiseshell being the most sought after materials of the day. The late nineteenth century saw a boom in plastic usage for jewelry.

Advances in chemistry brought many changes to the world of plastics:

Cellulose in 1867.
Casein in 1897.
Bakelite resin plastic in 1907.

Plastic jewelry gained universal appeal after 1925 when the famous French clothing designer Co-Co Chanel introduced the idea of costume jewelry in her couture collections.

The Art Deco period, about 1925-1930 was also a boom time for plastic jewelry.The workmanship during this time period was very good. These styles consist of a lot of geometrics, zigzag patterns and sleek design.

The 1929 Depression hit the expensive jewelry industry very hard. Plastic jewelry however, thrived for the next decade.

It is a matter of record that 40 to 50 percent of the jewelry sales in stores such as Saks, Bonwit's, and Miriam Haskell were plastic.

Chanel, Cartier, Hermes and Elsa Schiaparelli were renowned for their plastic designs.

Plastic was of course most spotlighted during the war years of the 1940's. All major materials were being used in the construction of any and all goods and equipment for the war needs.

This is the era of plastic as we think of it today. Many of the items much sought after in today’s antique/collectible markets are from the 1940's/50's. Radios tend to be the most desirable...after jewelry items.