Vintage, 1930s, bakelita yellow butterscotch bangles.

Vintage, 1930s, bakelita yellow butterscotch bangles.

Size: Inner diameter 6.5 cm

In excellent condition.

Bakelite jewelry was most popular during the Art Deco period, which began in 1909 and lasted until the 1940s. These pieces were created as costume jewelry, as a way to dress up clothing or an outfit without spending a lot of money. The pieces were popular during the heyday of the Art Deco period and many of the pieces remain popular today.

Dr. Leo Bakeland invented Bakelite in the early 1900s. Bakeland discovered that the material would cool quickly and wouldn’t melt, regardless of the temperatures.

The height of Bakelite jewelry was the late 1930s, up until the end of the Art Deco period. The designs were quite popular in mass merchandise stores such as Sears and Roebuck. However there were also some famous names working with the material and creating Bakelite jewelry including Chanel and Van Cleef and Arpel.