Featured Bead identification question Cherry Bakelite?

I have acquired a vintage beaded necklace. The beads are a deep red and appear to be faceted. The necklace is hand knotted. It is 83.79g and the beads are 11mm. They’re not super heavy but not overly light. Length is approx 52”. I tested them with simichrome and the and the atop turned a burnt orange color. There is no clasp. I do not see any seams on the beads. I don’t want to misrepresent this necklace so I am hoping someone can help me figure this out.

 

The way I always heard it, and personal experience, is that when color comes off on the q-tip it's something other than bakelite. I've never used simichrome to test cherry prystal though.

 

when testing Bakelite with simichrome, it should turn a burnt Orange if it is Bakelite.it is a chemical reaction.

 

1. Real Bakelite beads have different diameters of bead holes. On one side, the thread enters a hole of small radius, and comes out of a hole of larger radius. On one side it is larger, on the other side it is smaller, the holes are conical, remember? Let's move on.

2. Look at the light. There should be a beautiful pattern. In each bead. If there is no pattern, then such beads are not valued.

 

@Dessert58 once wrote..... "
As for transparent bakelite: I have some pieces that are clear: absolutely clear green, yellow and red and even one that is almost colorless/slightly yellow transparent with just a single cloud here and there
So yes, I do think its possible to find an almost clear transparent piece of bakelite."

I don't know if that helps or hurts here........ I just thought I'd enter it into evidence ...

 

Komokwa, yes indeed, clear bakelite exists.
This necklace could be bakelite, but I m not sure of it.
I do have a very similar piece which is bakelite, laying around here somewhere.

I m not sure about the simichrome results. So make sure you first wash the beads before you test them with simichrome, or the 'test results' could just be old dirt on the cotton swab.
Also, this color is not cherry amber.
Cherry amber is very dark red and indeed with a swirl pattern inside.
This necklace is more purple than red.

 

There is no purple in this necklace. It is a very deep dark Cherry red.
I did wipe off the bead before testing.

 

This necklace is a very dark deep red color. It seems to be pretty old. It looks translucent when I photograph it with the flash on but without the flash it just looks really dark. Someone was highly interested on eBay but I took the listing down for the moment because I do want to make sure it is Bakelite. I ran it under hot water and it did have a chemical smell but I am not sure what it is supposed to smell like. I’ve heard it compared to formaldehyde but it doesn’t smell quite as strong as that.

 

Another problem is that this is red material. Red bakelite is a royal pain to test, since it doesn't always react as often as not. What's coming off with the polishing material is some of the oxidation and since the red doesn't oxidize as much chemical tests don't always work.

I have a long dark red prystal necklace; my grandmother bought it new. There are some others too.

 

Asking out of complete ignorance: would Bakelite look like this under the surface? And I think I see several different surface textures; what's happening there?

 

This photo caught my eye as well. It's unusual, not sure what material that would be.

 

Here are 2 pics of tests I still had in archives of beads that I sold. I always do a Simichrome test and include that result in my auctions, so happened to still have photos of the test result. It should be really a rusty orange-y color and nothing else. What is unusual in the OP's test is that I see a rust colored stain, but also all the pink ? With the q tip Bakelite test -- what worries me is the pink color.






That said, Jen they do look like interesting beads. I am a total bead hound and I actually don't know what these are. Could be that they are still collectible, especially if they were starting to get interest on Ebay.

 

They got interest about 2 minutes after I posted them. The pink on my Qtip was the simichrome. The stain on my qtip was a rusty orange. I had them listed as Bakelite because of the simichrome test and the fact that they had a chemical smell. I do have another necklace here that I know for a fact is Bakelite so I will do the smell test to see if it’s the same. I hadn’t thought of that before. Also, there are several listings on eBay for the cherry Amber Bakelite and they look the same as mine in color so I am just not sure. I did weigh them but I’m not sure what they are supposed to weigh if they are Bakelite. I included the weight in my original post.

 

The different surface textures you are seeing may just be the lighting. The texture is uniform on the outside of the beads. It’s just harder to tell by looking at photos as opposed to holding them and seeing them in person. The inside on the end of the bead looks a little rough but I don’t know what the inside of a Bakelite bead is supposed to look like.

 

I did another test and made sure the bead was completely clean. Here is the result.

 

Looks right to me.