My newest bauble is from Classic Hardware--they make this plastic jewelry and they call it "Retrolite". It's supposed to be an homage to Bakelite. There's a wonderful little antique shop near my home and the woman who owns it has owned it for thirty years! One day she told me all about Bakelite--how it was this miraculous plastic and it was used for knobs, appliances, etc. It was incredibly strong and took color very well. Then they started making napkin rings, bracelets, pendants and other jewelry out of Bakelite because they could make the colors so vibrant and beautiful. Then, people who worked in Bakelite factories started getting sick. Yup, Bakelite was toxic. So, no more Bakelite.
Now, people collect Bakelite--the finished products aren't toxic, it was the manufacturing process.
(Boy, that was a pretty crappy explanation of Bakelite, but you get the idea.)
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