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What Is Thermoset Lucite Jewelry?

Thermoset lucite jewelry was manufactured predominantly in the 1950s-1960s by many costume jewelry companies. It was great for jewelry because the lucite (a heavier plastic) could be molded into many creative shapes and designs. I’ve seen many examples of thermoset lucite by well-known manufacturers such as Lisner, Coro, BSK, Trifari as well as other makers signed and unsigned.

Lucite can be opaque or translucent. It can also have objects embedded into it….objects such as abalone pieces, or shells, or confetti or glitter. Confetti lucite is exactly as it sounds: lucite with confetti or glitter embedded inside. The bracelets pictured are wide with lucite pieces with embedded items. They are available on my web site with the link below.

www.midcenturyjewelry.com.

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How To Identify Celluloid Jewelry



Celluloid was manufactured as an early plastic. Jewelry made of celluloid dates to about 1900 and was quite popular during the Art Deco period.

It is a lightweight plastic, many times a cream color. Sometimes the cream celluloid is painted to add color, though.

In the 1950s, a lot of celluloid jewelry was manufactured in Japan. Celluloid can be quite distinctive looking, many times with rhinestones embedded into the jewelry or molded/carved into floral designs.

Smell test: Hold your celluloid jewelry under hot water for 30 seconds. Now, put it up to your nose and smell it. You should smell a camphor or vinegar-like scent.

Weight: Celluloid feels very lightweight in the hand.

Needle Test: There is a test where you can apply a hot needle to celluloid to bring the camphor-vinegar smell out. Celluloid is FLAMMABLE so I would NEVER recommend this test!

www.midcenturyjewelry.com.