First, a little back history on this famous plastic. Bakelite is one of the first US manufactured early plastics. It was patented in 1907 by a Belgian chemist, Dr. Leo Hendrik Baekeland. This thermoset plastic was made with fillers which made it more durable, stronger and less expensive. It became popular due to its electrically nonconductive and heat-resistant properties. That is why it was readily used in such products as radio, televisions and telephone casings, electrical insulators, kitchenware, pipe stems, children’s toys, and of course jewelry.

Bakelite was manufactured between 1907 and 1927. The Catalin Corporation acquired the patent in 1927. It added 15 new colors and it was produced under the name “Catalin”.  Catalin and Marblette are trade-names for slight variations on the original Bakelite chemical formula. All are referred to as Bakelite today. These variations were generally manufactured on the East Coast from 1929-1941. Unfortunately, by the end of the World War II, new technologies for molded plastics such as Lucite, Fiberglass, Vinyl, and Acrylic had been developed. And so Bakelite became obsolete, except in the hearts of collectors.

Any Bakelite enthusiast knows how to spot its beautiful hues! Generally it is very opaque. True Bakelite colors are normally very dark because of the fillers. Bakelite could be produced in a wide array of colors, but the most common where white, brown, green and red. Vintage Bakelite has now sense oxidized causing a more patina look that is sometimes a completely different hue than the original color. For example, white often turns to butterscotch or cream corn, light blue changes to dark green, and pink turns to orange. Prystal is completely transparent non-marbled Bakelite, produced in several colors, including green, red, pink, teal, purple and amber. The amber is often called apple juice.

Karima Perry is an expert on the subject. She is the author of Shultz Bakelite Jewelry, and Bakelite Bangles. She also has a wonderful glossary of Bakelite color names on her website, PlasticFantastic.com that can be found here.

Now that you have your Bakelite color vocabulary down you are ready to go on the hunt!