Bakelite jewels are very popular. Bakelite, according to Wikipedia, is a resin obtained from formaldehyde and phenol. This resin is often added to a filler material, such as wood flour, graphite, mica, diatomaceous earth and dyes. In the past it has been used for electrotechnical elements, electrical switches, electricity sockets, pot handles. So what does it have to do with jewelry? Yet Mark Davis‘ Bakelite earrings and bracelets are also sold also for $ 32,000 each.
The jeweler is based in Brooklyn and has chosen to offer bracelets in a vintage style. Bakelite is the base, but to this it also adds small precious or semi-precious stones. Davis makes Bakelite from modern antiques such as jukeboxes and kitchen utensils. The result is surprising: treated and worked, the bakelite turns into a lively jewel, with strong colors and marbled shades of brown, red and pink, dotted with contrasting color stones (of ethical origin, the designer specifies), like garnet, peridot citrine. They are lively bracelets, large and immediately visible. Better to combine them with simple fabrics, better if they are of a single color, and avoid wearing other jewels with too generous dimensions.
