Vintage plastic bangle with wire turning blue. Why is that?

Hi Everyone!

I recently bought this nice bangle, but only when I got home I noticed that in some areas the wire has some blueish dust around it. Does anyone know why that is?
Also, I suspect this is a bangle from the 80s? Do you think Im right?
Have a nice day!

Vic

 

nice ivory bracelet.....i'd think human skin oils affected the metal..

 

Thank you! Is there something I need to do with it? Do you also think its from the 80s?

 

As Dave said above, the green is copper oxide, so the wire is probably brass. You can clean it with metal polish or abrasive tips (like a dremmel) *BUT* these may affect/stain or damage the bracelet so you need to go careful. Try a small area with a cotton bud first in an area you wont see.

 

Verdigris... Vinegar on a Qtip and dab the affected areas, shoudn't harm the ivory, repeat, rub with the Qtip till it disappear, then rinse and dry thoroughly.

 

Thank you so much! Ill try to do this tomorrow.

 

Ditto.
It is a beautiful bangle. You're right on the date, 1980s.
I think you bought it for yourself, but if you ever want to sell it, you could only do so privately. It was made after 1947, which means made after the CITES ban on ivory.

 

Thanks! Yes, I bought this for myself. But... I think this is made of plastic. Just the color is ivory.

 

I doubt it's ivory though, more likely cassein plastic or galalith, in which case vinegar may not be ideal.

 

Is it possible to confuse these two materials???

 

Cassein based plastics were made to simulate ivory, there are also other simulants such as epoxies, phenolics and bakelite type compounds. They can all look like ivory in a picture, but you can tell the difference when handling.

 

Ok, thanks for the answer! Yes, it is plastic, not sure which kind, but it doesn't look or feel like ivory in real life.

 

I'd soak it in white vinegar.

 

Galalith is a casein plastic.

Not really, it was developed for objects that were never made from ivory, such as whiteboards. But casein based plastics did turn out to be the most beautiful early plastic for jewellery, and the old pieces are still valued as such.
I have never heard of the material being used for 80s jewellery though, it was mostly used in the Art Deco period.

Maybe you were thinking of celluloid? Celluloid was used mostly to imitate natural materials such as ivory and tortoiseshell, although it certainly came in other colours too.
Celluloid ivory, called ivorine or French ivory, has alternating even bands of ivory colour and an almost translucent darker shade.

 

I think Isadora used it in the late 70's and 80's and as far as I recall there was a bit of a revival around that time in the UK (my sister used to be into that kind of item in the early 80's). It was variously called Galalith, milk plastic or casein plastic, of course the names may not have reflected the reality as it does look pretty much like celluloid ivory and my memory of that period is hazy. Is there an easy test between the two?

 

Rub your thumb over it until it gets warm. If it smells of (spoilt) milk, it is galalith or a similar casein plastic.
Some people are able to smell a camphor odour when they warm celluloid. I have never been able to smell that.
Other than that, visual. If it is an ivory lookalike that has those alternating even bands I mentioned before, it is celluloid.

But casein based plastics are always the most beautiful, with a very rich, deep colour.

 

OK, then....maybe not ivory.........can we get close ups ??

 

I always use my favourite, rice bran oil. It is nice and thin, which is perfect for jewellery. I also use it on coral if it is dried out and it gets that white calcium haze.