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Lucite is a type of acrylic plastic used in industrial manufacturing, but was once popular for jewelry and accessories. Vintage Lucite refers to products made before 1970. It can be identified by its lack of odor when exposed to hot water. Vintage pieces often have a moonglow or granite finish, or contain confetti. Lucite has had revivals in fashion, but the name cannot be correctly applied to these pieces.
Lucite is a modern material with a vintage past. The name refers to a form of acrylic plastic known chemically as polymethyl methacrylate. It has both the light weight of plastic and the hardness and shine of glass. Primarily used in industrial manufacturing today, Lucite was once a popular medium for jewelry and accessories. Vintage Lucite refers to Lucite products, particularly jewelry, made before 1970.
Polymethyl methacrylate was first synthesized in the late 19th century. Rohm and Haas, the company that made Lucite, was formed in the 1930s and began making jewelry and accessories using the material. The manufacturing company stopped making these products to focus on industrial applications in the 1970s. Vintage Lucite was made during the decades between the company’s inception and that company’s cessation of jewelry manufacturing. Although the jewelry is still made from polymethyl methacrylate, it is not made or sold under the Lucite name.
Lucite can be transparent or opaque and comes in a wide range of colors. Vintage Lucite jewelry is made to look like glass; only the sensation and texture of the objects belies their plastic nature. Vintage pieces exist in many forms, including beads, finished jewelry items, handbags, and items for the home. Vintage accessories made with Lucite are considered collector’s items, comparable in demand to bulkier Bakelite pieces from the same era.
Parts made of Lucite can be distinguished from other ancient plastics by a simple test. Submerge the piece in hot, but not boiling water. If the piece has a discernible odor, it is not a vintage Lucite piece, as Lucite has no odor when exposed to hot water. Antique dealers can often identify vintage poly(methyl methacrylate) pieces, sometimes just by sight.
Some Lucite pieces are clearly vintage. The moonglow finish, for example, was made during the vintage era and appears to shimmer when held in the light. The pieces that resemble the granite pattern are also likely vintage Lucite due to their construction and design. Confetti Lucite, which is a clear plastic with pieces of glitter trapped inside, is another popular vintage finish, although confetti pieces were also made during later periods of PMMA production.
Lucite has undergone several revivals since its peak period of manufacture, although the name cannot be correctly applied to the pieces. A brief revival of the material in fashion and accessory manufacturing occurred in the 1980s and again in the early 2000s. Even though these pieces are referred to as Lucite, it is a misnomer. Polymethyl methacrylate pieces from the 1980s are sometimes referred to as vintage Lucite due to the incorrectly applied Lucite label.
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