Featured Celluloid necklace? Other early plastic?

This necklace came in a jewellery lot from Germany. The seller thought it was bakelite, which would be pretty unusual if the beads are European made. We rarely find US jewellery here in Europe.
So I think maybe celluloid?

The total length is ca 44 cm/17.32".
I think it was re-strung at some stage, there is no visible wear to the thread. It has an old screwbarrel clasp which had a lot of grime stuck to it though. I managed to get that off withouth exposing the beads to soap or alcohol.
Definitely not amber, but pretty lightweight, and no @kyratango , I didn't taste the beads.

Costume joolies and others, your thoughts please.
Thank you for looking.





The swirls look dark and opaque, but are actually translucent:

 

Very pretty.

 

Thanks pearls.

 

aj, we do get a fair bit of bakelite here in the UK. Have you got any Maas or a similar cream cleaner to test it?

 

Pretty thing!
I think light weight isn't caracteristic of bakelite (bakelight???)
Celluloid is light

 

In spite of the Dutch name, we don't get that here. I looked it up and saw several types of metal cleaners, do you have a link maybe?
Or do you know of something else I could use? We have some of the same brands the French have. @kyratango do you know maybe?

I did read that you should be very careful with celluloid and any chemicals, which is why I made sure the beads didn't come in contact with soap and alcohol.

 

In the US we make it 3 syllables: bay-kuh-lite. Named for the guy who invented it, I believe. Is Bakelite ever translucent this way? Have never seen Celluloid with this amber/tortoise look either, & I got into Celluloid jewellery for a time. There are so many other polymers that never became famous.

 

Thanks, kyra.

 

I have washed Celluloid in mild soap & tap water. You just don't want to let it soak too long.

 

Yes, the Belgian Leo Baekeland. He invented it in New York though, which is why it is hardly found overhere.

True.
European favourites were celluloid, galalith and catalin. But I am sure there were others too.

 

But would you try a polishing product on it?

 

aj, any cream in a tube metal polish which is pink ought to do it. Autosol is another one. What brands do you get?

You'd need to clean one bead - a bit of spit on a cotton bud is best - then a wee smear of the cream on another cotton bud. Goes yellow for bakelite. (Mostly).

Drop of Fairy Liquid and warm water cleans most things.

 

Not if I was not yet sure it was not Celluloid.

 

The teeny tiny smear you need to use to test won't hurt, just wipe it off quickly. If in doubt stick the thing in a bag for an hour and see if it's stinky.

 

What is it those faux amber beads we see in Himalayan jewellery made of? You've explained it before. Also, not sure these beads are so old that they are necessarily one of the very early materials.

 

I got simichrome on Amazon, I think (of course when coming from outside of EU, shipping is...)

 

And only for testing one bead....

 

Maas works, can get that on Amazon EU.

 

I wore my Bakelite necklace, I got warm during the day at the Vintage Fair and I began to smell of formaldehyde! I’ve had success with just rubbing the beads on my jeans and with warm water to detect the odour too and with the baking soda and water paste mix on the q tip to see if I got the yellow tinge.

 

Thanks, I'll take a look. But as kyra said, bakelite is heavier than celluloid. This necklace is lighter in weight than my bakelite earrings. And I don't want to damage anything.

I have tried that with my bakelite in the past, I never smell a thing.

I thought about doing that, but wasn't sure it was safe in case it is celluloid. I could try, it seems less harmful than metal cleaners, and I can rinse it off.