Retro Jewelry and Plastic Jewelry

Since I talked about the types of jewelry I like to collect, I thought I would share some pictures of my favorite pieces.

Plastics have been used to make jewelry since around the turn of the century. Bakelite is probably the most well-known for use in jewelry, but other commonly used plastics include celluloid, lucite and thermoset. This pretty red necklace is actually a combination of plastics. The red links are made of celluloid and the interesting heart is a clear lucite over red lucite. The heart pendant is nearly three inches wide.

Celluloid could be used to make very elaborate jewelry. It was easily carved and molded into shape, like the links above. This bracelet is a perfect example of one of the more elaborate designs. Although this piece is pure white and looks like chalk, many of these bracelets were highly colored.

Because celluloid, as well as many other plastics, were cheap and so easily formed, they were often used for a lot of novelty jewelry. Remember Cracker Jacks? Cracker Jack "prizes" were often made of celluloid.

Celluloid is also highly flamable, so you want to keep it away from flame. I can't help but wonder how many pieces were lost back in the days when everyone smoked.

Retro is a term that is used often to refer to something that is a throw back to another era. However, there was a specific style of jewelry popular in the 1940's that is called Retro. Think back to some of the classic black and white movies of the time. Remember the women's fashions? Plain suits with straight skirts and jackets with wide lapels and broad, heavily padded shoulders. Retro jewelry, with its simple, bold lines was a perfect accompaniment for those styles. The pale blue stones on this piece make it a particularly attractive example.

Here's a smiliar piece with purple or violet rhinestones. This piece is signed Corocraft by Coro. Coro was one of the most prolific costume jewelry companies through the 30's and 40's. They created a great deal of Retro jewelry which is collectible today. Typical of Coro jewelry at the time, this piece is a gold wash over sterling silver.

Of course, these are just a few favorites. I have so many more, I couldn't possible post them all.