Good evening my lovely, I hope you have had a fabulous day in the sunshine! Today’s post is about an amazing piece of history that I came across an antiques fair the other day:
1920s green bakelite cuff jewellery
It is a green Bakelite cuff, mostly likely from the American Roaring 20s! The beautiful ladies of the time would probably have worn it with some matching earrings, a necklace and most likely also a flapper dress.
1920s green bakelite cuff
Bakelite is a type of plastic that was popular in jewellery during the Art Deco period – invented and patented by chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863-1944) in 1907. It was first used for industrial purposes, but eventually its versatility started shining through, when people realised that it could be moulded into various lovely designs and so it became a popular material in jewellery. It was especially great during the Depression era, as its low cost or happy colours made it into a very popular choice of material.
The exquisite design of the hinge at the back of the cuff
Today we can find antique bakelite items displayed in museums and they can fetch large sums when sold, partly because of their distinctive look but also because they represent an era when fashion items became affordable to all – as opposed to earlier times, when only the wealthy were able to indulge in fashion and consumer goods.
This little beauty is priced at £450 and if you are interested in it, please do send me an email to info@decadesofelegance.com – and I will put you in touch with the seller of the piece, the lovely Zena.
Decades of Elegance 