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Home , Plastics industry

FANTASY, OR PURE STYLE? OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Jane Stancliffe Formerly a curator in the Metalwork Department, Victoria & Albert Museum, Executive Assistant, National Art - Collections Fund

In this essay I should like to highlight the unique qualities of jewellery made from synthetic . Plastic jewellery so often comes under the general heading of costume jewellery which again itself is often assumed to be imitative of jewellery made from precious materials. This is rarely the case with cither and in the case of plastics their colour ranges and three-dimensional qualities mean that a whole range of different effects can be achieved (plate 1).

The word plastic comes from the Greek word plalto which means to mould or form and has been in use in this context since the 1920s. Plastics are non-mctallic and can be softened by heat and set into a lasting form. Of the synthetic plastics there arc about two dozen important types of plastics-but at least 5,000 trade names. For this reason it is almost impossible in most cases to recognise a particular plastic from its trade 1. Bracelet; carved Bakelitc, United States of America, circa name. 1935..^Courtesy of Studium^=

Scientists refer to natural and synthetic plastics as sheets, powders, granules and liquids. Thermosetting because they are made up from long chains plastics arc generally pressed, formed, or transfer containing many or individual molecules. moulded. , with the exception of cellulose Polymers can be natural, semi-synthetic or synthetic. nitrate, are usually formed in For example, amber, tortoiseshell, horn and bone are machines. Alternatively they arc also produced in sheet some natural plastics (jewellery' of such materials will and block form - of any size or thickness, and can be not be discussed in this essay). When these polymers pressed or carved from sheet form. are polymerised, the monomers bond themselves together and acquire the strength and flexibility of The impetus to develop the synthetic plastic jewellery microscopic chains. Polymers produced by the synthetic trade came from the need to find a substitute for plastics ' arc based on hydrocarbons which were dwindling supplies of natural materials such as ivory originally obtained from but now mainly by oil. and tortoiseshell, which had always been in demand for They arc classified according to their origin and method a variety of objects such as decorative combs, cutlery of synthesis. handles, small boxes and jewellery. In the race to find a perfect substitute the progress of this new industry was Plastics fall into two main categories - thermoplastics interrupted by law suits, followed by periods of frantic and thermosetting plastics. Thermoplastics become soft activity when supplies of some natural materials were and mouldablc on heating without undergoing exhausted or cut off by enemy action in wartime. significant chemical change. On cooling they harden and this cycle can be repeated. Three examples of The cut and moulded vulcanite jewellery of the 19th thermoplastics are cellulose nitrate - (trade names Century was a plastic made from . The Celluloid and Xylonite) and acrylic. rubber was supplied from South America and later Thermosetting plastics arc rigid, the molecules arc cross- Malaya. Raw rubber was too soft to be used alone, so linked in three dimensions. They are resistant to higher it was generally combined with up to 30% of sulphur temperature and after curing cannot normally be and vulcanised by heating it to produce a hard rubber softened or moulded again. They arc insoluble and swell whose hardness and elasticity depends on the sulphur only slightly in most solvents. At normal temperature content. they are hard and brittle. The milk-based casein. (tradenames Galalith and Erinoid) and Phenol The vulcanising process was developed by Charles formaldehyde, (trade names Bakclite and Gatalin) arc Goodyear of America in 1839, but in 1856 Thomas both thermosetting plastics. Hancock patented a similar process in England. Hard rubber is often known as vulcanite or ebonite though All these plastics are worked in a variety of ways and neither seems to have been registered as a trade name their semi-finished forms are very different ranging from and these names were interchangeable. The Victorians 31 loved jet jewellery, and ebonite or vulcanite was used had been produced by the end of 1869, this company in large quantities as a substitute. too was put into liquidation after four years. Spill continued to trade under his own name, Daniel The two French firms, Cartier and Fouquet Spill & Co. in 1875 but with little more luck. The Spill incorporated ebonite in their jewellery during the first Collection is now on display in the Science Museum thirty five years of this century illustrating the fact that in London. its desirability and usefulness continued well beyond the subsequent invention of alternative materials. The British Xylonite Co. was formed in 1877 and using different techniques, the subsequent imitation grained Other substitutes made from semi-natural products ivory the factory produced proved to be an enormous which perhaps deserve separate study included Gutta success. The factory moved from Homerton in London Percha, Shellac and Bois durci all of which were, for to Brant ham in the Essex countryside in 1887. a time, used relatively successfully to make picture and looking glass frames, cutlery handles, jewellery, combs, Meanwhile in 1869, a competition was held in America covers and other small items. to search for a suitable substitute for the manufacture of billiard balls. The Hyatt brothers, John Wesley and The first major semi-synthetic plastic to be invented was Isiah Hyatt did not win the S10,000 but by 1869 had called Parkesine. During the 1840s the English inventor, developed billiard balls made of shellac and woodfiour Alexander Parkes found that cellulose in the form of and covered in collodion. This technique did not prove woodflour or cotton fibre, when dissolved in nitric and very satisfactory as the ball when played hard would sulphuric acids and mixed with oils, formed a dough occasionally produce a detonation like that from a cap to look like ivory or horn. The trouble was that cellulose gun. Hyatt reported “We had a letter from a billiard nitrate (pyroxylin) is extremely ; guncotton is saloon proprietor in Colorado mentioning this fact and the same chemical substance. Parkes registered twenty saying that he did not care so much about it, but that patents for mouldable pyroxylin materials alone. His instantly every man in the room pulled a gun’*. The displays of medallions, combs, buttons, knife handles, subsequent breakthrough in the production of what pens and book bindings in the 1862 International initially became known as Pyroxylin was in fact cellulose Exhibition and the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition won nitrate, a , and was announced in the him medals. Parkesinc mouldings, made from 1855 to Hyatt patent of 1870. He had discovered that powdered 1868 are brittle and very rare; colour effects could be could be mixed with Pyroxylin and under achieved by the incomplete mixing of , and the heat and pressure it acted as a solvent. use of intricate pique inlay of gold, silver and mother of pearl. The best collection is displayed in the Plastics In 1871 as a direct result the Celluloid and Rubber Institute in London. Alexander Parkes company was formed. By 1878 licences had been wrote an enlightened paper given to the Royal Society granted for the production of jewellery, necklaces, of Arts in December 1865 in which he described his pendants, earrings, watchchains, pins, buttons, charms, search for a new material capable of replacing all bracelets and many other items. In the same year the previously known natural plastic substances such as product was given international exposure at the Paris ivory, tortoiseshell, horn, rubber and gutta percha. Exposition and the new trade name Celluloid quickly became synonymous with cellulose nitrate plastics. The Daniel Spill, with his brother George, makers of of combs and slides carved traditionally of waterproof capes and groundshcets for the army, saw tortoiseshell, horn and ivory were easily adapted to the Parkes’ products at one of the international exhibitions new and softer Celluloid. Large quantities of combs and and entered into business negotiations with him. By hair ornament were made in America at Leominster, 1864 an agreement was signed whereby ‘Parkesinc’ Massachusetts, and in Europe in the French town of would be made at George Spill & Co’s factory. In 1866 Oyonnax. the Parkesinc company was floated with a promise that the material could be produced at one shilling per All celluloid objects arc made from sheet material of pound, with a capital of £100,000 and Spill as the different thicknesses and many which simulate ivory managing director. The solvent used for the Pyroxylin betray their origins with flat strips caused by being sliced was wood naptha with small quantities of camphor to from laminated blocks. Small, solid sculptural forms reduce shrinkage. Because of the shilling per pound were stamped or hot pressed from thicker pieces of promise, very cheap cotton and fillers like cork and zinc celluloid. Sometimes celluloid can be identified by compound were used which meant that pure while rubbing the pieces briskly against clothing; the friction materials could not be produced. The Parkesine releases the smell of the distinctive camphor solvent. company went into liquidation in 1868 with assets including 1,650 dozen knife handles; 1,950 sheets; An English patent for artificial tortoiseshell was brooches, earrings; inkstands and writing eases. registered in 1875. Thin sheets of cellulose nitrate in two or more colours were blended by passing them Daniel Spill floated his own Xylonite Company on the through healed rollers. Hand-colouring was also same premises and manufactured under the trade names practised to enhance the effect. Imitation tortoiseshell of Xylodine, Xylonite and Ivoridc. These materials were became immensely popular for dressing table items and made from better raw materials but even though 16 tons to the untrained eye is indistinguishable Ironi the real

32 ones, and later designs became more daring. These elaborate sets sometimes consisting of over 40 separate pieces, arc well-illustrated in the department store catalogues of the day. The Frenchness of the ivory was simply a strategy to appeal to the fashion­ conscious. American lines deliberately took on French sounding names.

Celluloid became increasingly popular during the early years of the twentieth century for fashionable mass- produced jewellery. In her book, Andrea di Noto describes the works of a progressive plastic jewellery manufacturer in America called George Berkander of Providence, Rhode Island (established in 1917) who specialised in the production of celluloid jewellery and hair accessories.

By the 1890s the cellulose nitrate plastic industry was well-established in both America and Europe. By 1911 over 1,200 patents had been issued in the USA and UK relating to the and application of cellulose nitrate plastics. However, the major disadvantage of cellulose nitrate plastic was its extreme flammability.

Paris during these years remained a focal point for new and styles despite the frantic activities 2. Comb; celluloid, United States of America, circa 1900 elsewhere. In France there was a very important centre V&AM.17-1985.^Courtesy of the Trustees of the Victoria for the plastics industry* which was established in the & Albert Museum^ village of Oyonnax, near the Swiss border. It is thought to have been established during the first quarter of the thing. The London based Army and Navy Stores 19th century and it grew later through the fashionable catalogue of 1907 offered combs in buffalo horn, demand for elaborate celluloid hair combs at the end vulcanite (hard rubber), Xylonite (i.c. cellulose nitrate) of the 19th century'. and tortoiseshell (plate 2).

In America many jewellers were curious to try out the The museum in Oyonnax should be visited by all new substance and in the 1885 Philadelphia Novelties plastics enthusiasts. The which was carried out Exhibition Tiffany & Co were reported as showing in this small town during the first thirty years of this celluloid jewellery. Meanwhile new trade names century was some of the most inspired. The town could surfaced regularly and the giants of the plastics industry boast at least four very talented designers at this time, began to emerge. One of these was the Arlington J. Paguignon, Marie-Leon Arbez-Carme, Clement Manufacturing Company, using the trade name Pyralin Joyard and Auguste Bonaz. Maric-Lcon Arbez-Carme whose advertisements could be seen in trade and fashion (1858-1928) was a genious chemist who travelled Europe magazines of the period. Eventually DuPont took over visiting all the museums before returning to her home the Arlington Company although they kept the already town. A characteristic aspect of her work was her skills in established trade name of Pyralin, and in 1927 the colouring celluloid and making it look like almost any Celluloid Manufacturing Company merged with the other material such as wood, ivory or metal (plate 3). Cclanese Corporation of America. The work of the Maison Bonaz perhaps became the best known, showing great variety of form and colour, and An American patent for artificial horn was taken out always elegant and sophisticated (plate 4). Celluloid and in 1891 and used for a variety of small objects. Sheets later the new casein plastic known as Galalith was of coloured cellulose nitrate plastic were variegated and particularly popular with artisans in France. Even in lined strata were shaped into cones, super-imposed one their heyday the phenolic resins such as Bakclite were on top ol die other and fused by heat and pressure. The rarely used on their own and certainly never so result was a solid plastic mass visually resembling the imaginatively. Auguste Bonaz worked in Paris for part structure of horn. Notable in this field was the work of of his career and during this period the influence of the a Paris-based firm called Fornclls who produced high Paris designers is evident in his work (plate 5b). His quality work between 1900 and 1930. work was certainly good enough to merit a mention in the 1925 Exposition dcs Art Dccoratifs et Industries It was not until the early 20th century that celluloid Moderncs. made real impact on fashion. Boxed dresser sets in so-called ‘French Ivory’ became very fashionable. At Another notable French designer working in plastics first tin sets imitated the more costly silver and ivory although not from Oyonnax was Bonte. 'Phis firm made 33 produced (by 1897) Galalith meaning milkstonc - they described it as artificial horn and patented it in 1899.

Pioneers in this field were the International Galalith Gcscllschaft in Hamburg, Germany. They made buttons not only from sheet casein by turning, milling, laminating or pressing, but also from carved and turned casein rod to produce ball and half-ball buttons. Casein is capable of taking only surface dye. This fact was used by Galalith to produce decorative and interesting effects between the two wars, when large bright plastic buttons were popular. France very quickly followed suit with the use of Galalith, and for a lime it was very popular with jewellers.

One of the German firms who employed plastics in their jewellery was Henkel & Grosse - today one of the leading costume jewellery firms in the world, who have made jewellery for the French firm Christian Dior since 1953. The firm was founded in 1907 by Florcntin Grossc 3. Brooch; stained celluloid, France, circa 1925. Made by (1878-1953) and his wife’s brother, Heinrich Henkel, Maric-Lcon Arbcz-Carmc. ^Courtesy of the Muscc du in Pforzheim. After World War I, the company began Pcignc, Oyonnax)i to branch out and make jewellery with the popular materials of the 1920s, making cast silver jewellery (using the lost wax method) and stamped jewellery set with pastes. The three materials the firm favoured were lacquer, enamel and Galalith. During the 1930s the firm grew considerably and gained such a reputation that couturiers such as Lanvin and Schiaparelli began to commission their jewellery. In the Paris International Exhibition of 1937, the firm was awarded a distinction for their chrome and Galalith, the Diplome d’Honneur (plate 6). A large amount of casein also used in Great Britain, it was patented by Victor Schulz, whose factory was in Stroud, with the tradename, Erinoid (1914). Much of this firm’s jewellery can be seen advertised in the jewellery trade magazine of the day. Meanwhile British Xylonite, makers of celluloid nitrate, had expanded to Hall End and was producing their own casein plastic 4. Comb; celluloid and imitation pearls, France, circa 1910, called Lactoid and also a cellulose acetate, called Bexoid. signed by Auguste Bonaz. ^Courtesy of John Jesse and Irina In America casein was also produced, a well-known Laski^* tradename was Aladdinitc made by the Aladdinile Company from 1919. a number of celluloid necklaces and brooches, as did Camille Guillot and Marie Dubas. Marie Dubas’ Casein plastic was never really in competition with jewellery, made in the 1930s is quite easily recognisable cellulose nitrate. It was brittle and could not be produced as she frequently set chromium roundels into the casein in sheets as thin as celluloid which limited its moulding (plate 5, left). The firms of Bouchcron, Van Clccf & capabilities, it also had a tendency to warp and crack. Arpels. George and Jean Fouquet and Lucicn Gaillard For this reason it was soon displaced by other plastics all experimented with the incorporation of plastics in with more desirable properties. Its major use, was, and their jewellery. still is, in the button industry.

The invention of casein followed close on the heels of A non-flammable form of celluloid, cellulose acetate was cellulose nitrate; it was a thermosetting plastic and patented in 1894 but it was not until after World War created from natural raw materials which was created I that further technical developments led to production from the protein from milk. Using rennin, the enzyme of the solid form in sheets, rods and lubes. Khodoid was obtained from the stomach of a calf, the casein was one of the better known trade names. During the 1930s precipitated, washed, dried and ground. The chemical and 40s cellulose acetate began replacing many items process of setting casein, the coagulant in milk, was formerly made from cellulose nitrate and continued in patented in Germany. Dr Adolph Spinier and W. large scale use up to the early 1950s. For example, in Krishc in Hamburg called the material they had the late 1930s, sunglasses previously worn only by blind

34 people were suddenly elevated in to a fashion requirement by such people as Coco Chanel and Greta Garbo. It has semi-flexible qualities and was available in water white or any translucent or opaque colour. Special effects such as marbleizing, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell or onyx were easy to achieve, the material could even be made fluorescent. Cellulose acetate cigarette eases were also popular and a gimmicky fashion accessory.

As the 19th century had drawn to an end, the Art Nouveau style had dominated the decorative arts and inspiring creative desire and artistic impulse in Paris and elsewhere. It was a great source of inspiration to 5a. Necklace; Bakclitc and chromium, France, circa 1930. the French costume jewellery industry because of its -(Courtesy of Mcrola)-* element of fantasy and also because it sometimes used 5b. Necklace; Galalith(?), France, circa 1920, signed Auguste materials suitable for mass-production; these materials Bonaz. {Courtesy of John Jesse and Irina Laski)- included silver, glass and plastics; stones were either 5c- Necklace; Galalith(?), France, circa 1930, signed Mane semi-precious or glass and were often chosen to Dubas. (Courtesy John Jesse and Inna Lask* complcment enamel decoration. Samuel Bing’s L’Art Nouveau gallery, and La Maison Moderne “put more emphasis on jewels, and especially on the modern style through jewels for more general tastes and budgets”.

To a great extent pattern were still being circulated and relied upon in the jewellery industry, whilst criticism and analysis became part and parcel of an essay or review in a fashion or art journal. This in turn generated competition and more originality in design. In addition to this it was significant that in French fashion magazines imitation jewellery was being advertised openly, and given active support by leading 6. Necklace; Galalith and chromium. West Germany fashion illustrators such as Paul Iribc and Charles (Pforzheim). Made by Henkel & Grossc.^(Councsy of Martin. Henkel & Grosse),

In 1909 Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes arrived from St Petersburg. The costumes and decor electrified Paris and led to a complete reappraisal in the arts of decoration, fashion and jewellery. Their designer, Leon Bakst favoured bold, geometric use of colour which was to have a particular impact on the plastic jewellery industry, world-wide. Unusual colour combinations in Galalith and phenolic resins were strikingly juxtaposed.

There were two other influential designers and illustrators, Eric and Georges Barbicr. The extreme elements of fantasy in their illustrations proved to the costume jewellery designers and manufacturers that anything was acceptable provided low-cost materials were being used - and the more startling and dramatic the effect the better.

Fashion and in particular the role of the couture industry took a significant part in the escalation of the wearing of non-pn- >us, and essentially fashionable jewellery. Chanel w •. . n important influence in many of these changes. She •pened her first dress shop in Paris in 1914 and from time her fame, wealth and influence grew. 7. Chanel photographed by Roger Schall. (Courtesy of Roger All her do.ipis were based on her personal preference Scholl)—

35 for casual, stylish comfort. Although much of Chanel’s jeweller)' utilised glass rather than plastics there were a number of notable exceptions. One of her designers was Fulco di Verdura, an accomplished designer who went on to become a famous jeweller in his own right. However, one of the first pieces that he designed for Chanel was a wide bracelet in black and white baked enamel, mounted with multi-coloured stones. Chanel loved this piece and was often photographed wearing it; it was copied in plastic and mass-produced for a number of decades (plate 7).

Chanel’s arch rival, Elsa Schiaparelli was born in Rome, but moved to Paris in 1920. In 1935 she moved to the Place Vendome, where she opened one of the first couture boutiques - she sold sweaters, blouses, scarves and jewellery, “people could browse and try on without obligation ready-to-wear accessories, and all sorts of frippery . . .”. She was very much a sensationalist designer, in place of a continuous development based on a design philosophy, she had a brilliant knack of producing the witty shape or the clever accessor)' which was perfectly in tune with the moment. She had a great love for novelty and soon recognised the potential in costume jewellery as an accessory. 8. Necklace; vinyl with metal insects, France, circa 1938 by Unlike the serious dedication of Chanel, she regarded Elsa Schiaparelli. (.Courtesy the Brooklyn Museum, gift of her work as an amusement and her greatest Paul and Arturo Pcralta-Ramos from the Estate of Millicent achievements were often as a result of her ability to Rogers^ collaborate with artisans and craftsmen. Schiaparelli befriended and worked with artists such as Christian Berard, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dali, Cecil Beaton and Man Ray, and they were to have a great influence on her work.

Schiaparelli showed her first costume jeweller)' collection in 1931 - flower necklaces and ermine and feather necklaces which already had a surrealist flavour. Both Jean Clement and Alberto Giacometti were designing for her at this time, he also designed buttons in wood, metal and plastics, representing padlocks, butterflies, mermaids, fox-heads and inevitably, 9. Bracelet; cclluloid(?), and paste, France, circa 1925. hands. Aragon, the poet, designed a necklace of aspirins, •(.Courtesy of Studium)* Francois Hugo designed a necklace of metal flics attached to cellulose acetate during the mid 1930s (plate forms and motifs were drawn from Aztec and Egyptian 8). cultures. Stylised floral patterns were derived from Japanese prints and textiles. Zigzags, lightening bolts, Christian Berard also designed jewellery for Schiaparelli. stylised fountains and sunbursts alluded to the The plastic fish bracelet from Billy Boy’s Collection and electrifying atmosphere of the modern age. Art Deco is thought to have been designed by Christian Berard and later Modernism was to find perfect expression in for Schiaparelli, and was illustrated in a fashion feature the new synthetic plastic, phenol formaldehyde, of a 1934 British Vogue with the words, “Schiaparelli’s otherwise known as Bakclilc. scaly fish bracelet coils right up the arm and her lobster [presumably plastic] is a clip.’’ In the 1900s a Belgian-born chemist, Leo Baekeland, had been searching for a clear, glass like plastic, but Other couturiers such as Vionnet, Hubert and Vienne instead had become distracted by the < liemistry of endorsed the use of plastic materials for spectacles, phenol (carbolic acid) and formaldehyde, which had handbag frames, brooches and dress clips. been baffling scientists for some time. 1m 1**07, through a series of complicated experiments, lie succeeded in After the end of the first World War an epidemic of converting phenol formaldehyde into tin- first truly giddiness developed that produced the Roaring synthetic plastic. Initially Bakelite was u- • - I .is a binder Twenties, with its snappy jazz beat and the new sex for grinding wheels to replace shellac, and .dsn a lacquer symbol, the Flapper who had short hair, mile-long beads for brass. Another 20 years passed bcloir it was used and glittering bracelets (plate 9). Stepped architectural for jewellery.

36 !"” ...... : 7 ! improve the colours constantly but made no significant ■ • improvement until 1928 when a new product cast phenolic was successfully launched. It did not need a and could therefore be translucent. It was prepared in the form of viscous syrup, poured into a mould and hardened by heating. It was possible to mix colours and . let them flow together, and to machine and polish the finished moulding.

Meanwhile the Paris Colonial Exhibition of 1931 also signalled the fashion for large, heavy barbaric jewellery including some spectacular bracelets. Forms were drawn from Negro prototypes and blended with cubism. Meanwhile as the Art Deco style began to go out of fashion the Machine Age and Modernism took its hold.

Many young designers were impressed with the Bauhaus philosophy particularly the use of industrial materials such as steel, chrome and plastics. Plastics with their case of mass production and colour potential fell conveniently into this scenario.

The combinations of plastics and chrome and brass was frequently used by French, German and British designers for jewellery (plate 5 left and 6). Some of the most important European pieces use the plastic as a small, albeit fundamental, embellishment for the chrome, brass, silver or gold plate. Unlike the American craftsmen who rarely mixed Bakelite with metals, European Bakclite jewellery has a distinctly streamlined look.

The English were fond of combining Bakelitc with goldplate brass in designs that were usually quite plain but impressively massive in both look and feel. Germany brought the more austere Machine Age designs, usually in Bakelite and chrome. The pieces were, as a rule, not very large, but always clean of line and flawlessly executed. The English, French and German pieces were 10. Wristwatch; Bakclitc surround, France, circa 1925, made often impossible to tell the origin unless they were by Cartier. {Courtesy Cartier Museum, Geneva)— marked.

Of the plastic objects made during the 1930s and During the First World War Bakelite was produced in 1940s, the category most closely associated with the Britain under agreement by Damard. Baekeland’s jeweller)' would undoubtedly be that of jewellery boxes, original patent expired in 1927 and after establishing vanity jars and powder boxes also sometimes used for his patent rights again in the American courts, Bakelite cigarettes. The designs of these boxes were full of Ltd was formed in Britain by merger with Swinburne’s variety - rectangular, square, circular, oval, stepped. Damard, Mouldsenite and Redmanol. (Bakelite scalloped, fluted, be-footed and carved. During the mid eventually joined British Xylonite in 1963, it was taken 1920s these boxes less and less frequently simulated overby British Industrial Plastics Ltd in 1973). ivory but became far more glamorous and sparkling in their appearance. Celluloid and phenolic resins were The early Bakelite was mainly used for moulding used for these boxes and a striking mother-of-pearl effect consumer ; it was hard and brittle, and a had also been devised for celluloid. This had been reinforcement •> fibres or woodflour had to be added. invented in the 1880s and was a translucent cellulose A characteristi. mottled effect was caused by a filler, ' nitrate plastic mixed with finely ground . The which restric ted the colours to black and dark shades addition of fluorescent dyes or phosphorescent pigments of brown, giv blue and red, although jewellery such enhanced iridescence. Later lead phosphate was added as heavy bra« »*I

Cartier is kn u» have experimented with Bakelite In the early 1930s an American company, the Catalin (plate 10) but ; • dull colours of the early phenolics were Corporation created a newer phenolic called Catalin rarely succcsstul lor jewellery. Manufacturers tried to which took colour even better than before. Catalin 37 captivated the plastic industry with its more than two resin (). Perhaps the most familiar hundred opaque, marblcizcd, translucent, and of these in the jewellery trade is acrylic, which transparent colours. The firm also spent a great .deal has familiar trade names such as Plexiglass, Lucite, and of money on advertising its products, with actresses like Perspex. There arc basically two types of acrylic and Ginger Rogers contributing to its glamorous image. the scientist responsible for pioneering work in this field was Dr Otto Rohm of the firm Rohm and Haas in Raw materials came from the factory in standard tubes, Philadelphia during the first ten years of this century. rods and sheets of varying lengths and sizes for the Progress was slow and it was not until 1936 that ICI making of belt buckles, bracelets, and brooches. Like introduced Perspex in the form of clear cast sheets and metal and wood it could be sawed, sliced, threaded, Rohm and Haas introduced Plexiglas. DuPont ground, drilled and sanded as well as carved into introduced Pontalitc later renamed Lucilc in 1937 under intricate shapes and polished in large tumblers licence from ICI. In the same year both ICI and Rohm to the smoothness of glass. Findings, such as hinge and Haas introduced a form of acrylic suitable for screws and decorative metal embellishments were then injection and compression moulding. drilled or cemented into place. One of the Catalin corporation’s most famous designers was Martha This light, shatter-proof material was an ideal Sleeper (1910-1983) who designed plastic jewellery for replacement for glass and found immediate application them during the late 1930s/cariy 1940s. She was an in military equipment during World War II. After the actress turned designer, who through the costume War it was used extensively for, amongst other things, jewellery firm D. Lisner Company, infused the jewellery costume jewellery. It lent itself well to decorative world with new life. Her outlandish ideas and novel applications since it was easily twisted, engraved or approach to plastics rivalled Schiaparelli and she was frosted. A complete colour range was possible but in a master of figural jewellery. Martha Sleeper also contrast to other plastics, acrylics were outstanding for combined cast phcnolics with other plastics, such as the their crystal clarity. flexible cellulose acetate. After the Second World War the jewellery industry The New York-based Alta Novelty Company were changed quite considerably. Amongst other things there was a tremendous boom in the costume jewellery experts in the elaborate carving of phenolic resins and it designed exclusive product designs which were sold industry. Unfortunately much of the plastic jewellery in high-priced Fifth Avenue department stores. Alta made was cheap both in price and quality and a Novelty was a family-owned and run business that great deal of it was made. Many will remember the produced goods of top quality from 1931 to 1941. Ten poppit beads which swept the market in the 1950s. members of the Moure family turned out some of the These were necklaces and bracelets of individual most imaginative carved and figural and geometric polystyrene beads which could be joined and separated jewellery at this time, and extremely cheaply. Bracelets with ease. They were first patented in England in 1955 by Geoffrey Charles. The secret of their success was were sold for approximately £84 a gross or £7 a dozen, simply their adaptability at a time when fashion could sometimes limited editions of only six to twelve were made. All the carving was done by machinist who hand­ change overnight. held their work against lathes with high-speed carving Whilst Bakclitc was still being used in jewellery, other spindles attached. They memorised the cuts (the strokes firms experimented increasingly with acrylics. Notably, that made up the pattern) centred their designs by eye, and proceeded with extraordinary skill and speed to the giant American firm Trifari (established in 1924) carve the designs on the blank. On especially complex who made a series of brooches, earrings and necklaces incorporating acrylics during the later 1950s and 1960s pieces, the work was passed assembly style from one (plate 11). operator to the next using a particular cutter for a particular part of the design. Since each carved piece The orbiting Satellite Sputnik ushered in the Space Age was finished by hand, no two were ever exactly alike. in 1957. The emerging space technology entranced . . designers who saw a range of new imagery and colours, Clear cast phcnolics were also manufactured to imitate notably Frcnch fashion designcrs such as Paco Rabanne, crystal and one of its selling points ‘was the beauty oi picrrc Cardin and Courreges, who found new crystal at a third of the weight . Transparent cast resins expression in plastic jewels (plate 12). In Great Britain were more expensive than opaque raw materials, the fashion story of the 1960s was influenced by groups particularly with the added labour of both carving and such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Jimi the piece for reverse carved jewellery. The Hendrix. Mary Quant was largely responsible for Catalin Corporation, introduced clear jewellery to the popularising the boutique of the 1960s and the artist public in 1935 under the name of Prystal. Unfortunately jeweller, Wendy Ramshaw recalls making plastic it did not last long as this type of clear carved jewellery jcwcncry for Mary Quant between 1963-65. Pop was susceptible to cracking and distortion. jewellery incorporating plastics was a fashion necessity and was advertised and sold extensively.The American The 1930s witnessed the birth of the four thermoplastics jewellery designer Ken Lane deserves for setting that arc still the pillars of this industry today: polyvinyl a new pace and tone for costume jewel!. fashions in chloride, polystyrene, plymcthyacrylatc (acrylic) and the ensuing decades, and indeed the j*!- jewellery

38 industry once more began to advance in leaps and bounds, since its shaky beginnings in the mid-19th Century.

Note For reasons of space this introduction to the history of synthetic plastic jewellery has not covered the extensive industry in Japan and Czechoslovakia. Also discussed in my lecture was the talented and pioneering (non-mass produced) work with acrylics of artist-jewellers Gcrd Rothmann, Claus Bury and Fritz Maicrhofer and others during the 1970s.

12. Brooch; plastic. Great Britain, circa 1965, V&AM. 12-1988. (Courtesy of the Trustees of the Victoria & Albert Museum).

11. Brooch; acrylic and paste. United States of America, circa 1950, made by Trifari. (Courtesy of the Trustees of the Further Reading Victoria & Albert Museum)- Battersbv, Matin, The Decorative Twenties, Collier/Macmillan, 1961. Di Noto, Andrea, Art Plastic Designed For Living, Abbeville Press, 1984. Hollander, Harry, Plastics Jot Jewelry, Watson-Guptil, 1977. Katz, Sylvia, Classic Plastics, From Bakeliteto High-Tech, Thames and Hudson, 1984. Schiaparelli, Elsa, Shocking Life, Dutton, 1954. Vcrlcyc, Leon, La Bijouterie de Fantaisie, Paris, 1926.

Exhibition Catalogues Bakeliet: Techniek, Vormgeving, Gebruik, Bovmansvan Beuningen Museum, Mav/July 1981. Dekorative Polymere. Stadtmuscum, Dusseldorf, 1986. Gli anni di plastica, Montedison Collection, Milan, 1978. Plastic Antiques, British Industrial Plastics Ltd. 1977. Pour Un Musee de Peigne et de Plastic, Oyonnax, 1975. Synthetic Jewellery, East Midlands Arts, 1978. The World of Plastics, British Plastics Federation, 1986.

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