The latest Depression-era item to turn ”collectible” is Bakelite jewelry, which may be worth 100 times what it cost in the 1930s. Bakelite costume jewelry that sold for anywhere from a few cents to a ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover upmarket jewelry, timepieces & ethical, sustainable jewelry.

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts. Bakelite jewelry was one of the only affordable accessories for women ...

Made of a combination of phenol and formaldehyde, Bakelite is a type of plastic that became popular during the 1930s and 40s as a material not only for jewelry, but for other consumer goods like ...

Created more than a century ago, bakelite is a completely synthetic plastic material used in industrial and commercial products. Because it doesn’t contain petroleum, it can’t be melted or recycled.

Gem features one standout piece from a local shop. Whether it’s a jacket, necklace, or handbag, it’s on our have-to-have list. What: Bakelite was one of the first synthetic plastics, used originally ...

A new class of Bakelite collectors is emerging, and it’s hardly the swap-meet set. The spoils: a bangle or three with inlaid geometrics, perhaps a marbled ring with bursts of bezel-set gemstones. That ...

IT IS a busy evening in New York and a man is asking people on the street at random if they are familiar with Bakelite. None of them knows what it is, but most think it is related to food. We meet ...

I bought a wooden night table at an auction years ago. It’s a 1950s style, but the finish is reddish brown, not blond. The single drawer in the stand is marked “Heywood-Wakefield” within a circle.

When Leo Hendrik Baekeland invented Bakelite in 1907, he changed the world — ushering in the Age of Plastics and transforming the way people lived. The phenolic resin took off first as a superior, ...