CARVED BAKELITE BRACELET?

hi again all, I don't have 409 or scrubbing bubbles, I held it under hot water, it had a funny smell.. I wiped inside with quip, maybe just dirty? any ideas? I thought it was wood the carved part looks like wood, but it's definitely plastic.. your thoughts?
tia

 

Wash it with soap and water to get the dirt off then test it with a pink silver polish (I use Simichrome) on a Q-Tip, a positive will be a more yellow brown. If you don't have silver polish some say baking soda gives a result, but I have never used it.

 

Hope you don’t mind if I hijack the thread for a moment but does this look like a positive for Bakelite?. That’s using pink silver polish (thanks for that tip, hope I used the right stuff!)I washed them first as I did the hot water test and they did give off an odd smell.

 

@Marie Forjan please can I give you a nudge to look at my photo above for your opinion?
Thank you

 

It is confusing, the brown in the center is not good, but the more yellow color around it looks promising. Are you sure you cleaned them well?

 

That looks like nicotine. I'd try cleaning a bead and trying again. The baking soda test might help on both the OP's almost 100% sure bakelite and the yellow necklace. Dampen a q-tip and dip in the baking soda. Rub hard inside something, or on the outside of a bead. After rubbing a bit, hold it up to your nose while still rubbing. If you get formaldehyde stench, you're in. If the q-tip turns yellow, that's a positive too. With the black, a clunk test is in order too - click it against a known bakelite bangle. If it "clunks", you're in business. The black stuff is notoriously hard to test chemically.

 

wish I could send to you to test, I have a few things.. and being i never tested b4, I'm not sure of myself.. lol

 

I've used both the silver polish and the baking soda, but never the 409 or Simichrome. Your first testing tools are your eyes, ears and nose. Find a known piece and try that first, and then you'll know what to smell for.

 

@KSW this test was on a Bakelite button, notice the yellowish color, like the outside edge of your test Q-Tip:

 

Hi,
Just about all the vintage 1950 and earlier telephones here in the USA were bakelite. Black usually does not show positive results with the Q-tips and a a lot of the red also.
greg

 

A lot of stove knobs are black Bakelite too.

 

I'll try again . Maybe that was dirt that I thought I'd washed off!. That really helps to know what to look for. Thankyou.