All of these solid hues can be found with and without carving in a variety of shapes such as bangle bracelets, figural brooches, earrings, and dress clips like the pair shown here. Most colors can be marbled, but green with yellow is the combination found most readily today. Butterscotch with brown is also a commonly found duo. Some collectors avidly seek marbling containing more than two colors, and those are indeed harder to find. Clever collectors have named yellow transparent Bakelite “apple juice.” Sometimes you will find a piece of red transparent Bakelite nicknamed “cherry juice” as well. These pieces can be plain or carved, and the transparent nature of the material allowed for them to be reverse carved as well (as shown below). As for the laminated bangle shown here, it was originally patriotic red, white, and blue in color. The aging process has caused the white stripe to become yellow over time, according to Clarke. Reverse carved Bakelite is sometimes confused with Lucite. The difference is that most Lucite pieces are crystal clear where the Bakelite pieces will be a transparent color, usually yellow. Most often they are combined with other solid or marbled Bakelite segments that are more recognizable as this substance. Note that Jane Clarke of Morning Glory Antiques adds regarding the examples shown here, “This style of bracelet is being reproduced and so far, the repros I have seen are cloudy instead of clear like these.” Some contemporary Bakelite artisans also have employed this technique to decorate their creations. These designs are usually more elaborate in nature, and oftentimes have the signature of the maker within. Not all reverse carved Bakelite bracelets are stretch style, however, these are the ones found most often by collectors with elaborate decoration. Other bangles may have simple reverse carving made up of lines or notches without coloring. Resin wash was used on many figural designs, but can also be found on bangle bracelets and other pieces from time to time. The term overdyed was previously popular, but more and more collectors are now referencing these pieces as resin washed today. Pieces can be partially clad with metal or completely encased. Many of the pieces that are partially clad have metal over green marbled Bakelite. When Bakelite is showing through the design or visible on the interior of a piece, it can be tested to confirm the material. If it is completely encased in metal, one must learn to discern the look of clad pieces in comparison to other types of bangles made of solid metal. The bangle bracelet showed here, with hard to find textured gold overlay in excellent condition, is considered to be a “maiden’s” bangle due to the size of the opening. “The standard bangle is 2 1/2” in diameter, but I collect these smaller 2 1/8" to 2 1/4" diameter Bakelite bangles because they are just my size, and I am always in the market for them," said Jane Clarke on her Morning Glory Antiques website. “Prystal often a is a dichroic (color-changing) Bakelite, and in this case, the bangle is green with plum highlights,” said Jane Clarke of the example shown here on her Morning Glory Antiques website.
