Magento Commerce

What is Lucite?

Lucite

Lucite is a clear plastic which was introduced in 1937 by the DuPont Corporation. It is a very reasonably priced plastic and replaced much of the bakelite jewelry production by the 1950s. Lucite was used in the production of vintage jewelry since the early 1940s.

In its original form, lucite was clear but it later started appearing in many colors, and was most popular during the 1940s and 1950s. It is an acrylic resin and comes in a variety of forms and designs, including Moonglow lucite, confetti lucite, solid color lucite, molded lucite (such as thermoset), and a few other forms. It is still being used in the manufacture of jewelry today, although the newer forms of it appear more lightweight than the early forms.

Lucite cab be molded, carved, inlaid, etc. It can be tinted any color of the rainbow and is often either opaque or translucent. Some of the most interesting early designs of lucite jewelry are those that are embedded with rhinestones, glitter, seashells or flowers. The most well known and collected form of lucite jewelry are the popular "Jelly Belly" figurals with a center clear lucite belly, which were made famous by both and Trifari.

Lucite is odorless when placed briefly in hot water. It generally ages well, but can develop cracks or fissures from age, or extremes in temperature. It is easy to care for - just use a gentle cleaner and a soft cloth to polish but be careful not to immerse lucite jewelry which has imbedded rhinestones.

Here are some examples of Lucite Jewelry

To view other articles on other vintage words, please visit the word of the week archives.

See All resource Articles