Amber Pendant

Opinions on real amber or dyed plastic like material?
Thanks

 

Beautiful but I've no clue.

 

Hi,
Take a glass and put two teaspoons of salt in a ½ cup of water. If it is amber it should float, plastic will sink.
greg

 

WOW!!!

 

My guess would be plastic, but it's just a guess.

 

Will it flow even with the metal bail?

 

I wondered about this but even if not, that should be at the bottom if it floats at all.

 

I removed the rings and left only the bail. Don't know if I made the right mixture but it sinks like a bag of potatos.

 

It's not amber. It MIGHT be bakelite though. It's heavily carved and plastic. Wet the end of a q-tip and dip it in some baking soda. Rub a smooth part of the pendant fairly hard and sniff the spot you're rubbing. The q-tip will probably turn yellow and you'll smell formaldehyde. You can also use cream silver polish to do the same thing. If you get a rotten milk smell, it's something called catalin. It could also be acrylic or lucite. It's not a natural material though, whatever it is.

 

UV also tests amber, even reconstituted. It refracts the UV light to give a blueish diffused veil effect. I don't think this is amber. Carved celluloid, I suspect.

 

YEESH!!!! How can I retain all the GREAT info you ALL just posted!!!!!

 

Copy and make a WORD doc and file them.

 

BTW - I used the wrong word up there; the rotten milk plastic is galaith. Catalin is the stuff we normally lump in with bakelite, although technically it isn't. Real bakelite, to be pendantic about it, is brown or black. I think the Russians are still making some for electronics, or were 20 years ago.

 

Hi,
My FIL's uncle worked for the Bakelite company. His job was to haul the extra pieces of Bakelite left every day and dump it in a pond in Perth Amboy. I know the pond was covered 35 years ago. I know where it is. I am interested in digging it up.
His kids all had pieces of Bakelite used as blocks and building toys. They dumped all the stuff for 15 years there. Anyone interested in a treasure hunt??
greg

 

Oh, yeah. Sounds like a blast - depending on what it's covered with. Remember how last year or the year before they went to that dump site and dug up all the old video games?

 

There are people out there who'd pay big money for blocks of real vintage unworked bakelite. Rent that dozer and get after it.(LOL)

 

Pick a date and I'll come down and help. I haven't been to NJ in decades. We went down to visit my step-Dad's family when I was 16.