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Brooches of the Cat Series by Lea Stein from the 1970s-1990s |
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
Plastic has long been associated with negative images such as ``cheap,'' ``artificial,'' or ``non-real.''
Thus, how plastic has evolved from scientific invention to fashion items, remains much veiled even if you are a fashionista or a trendsetter.
To give you some idea, the World Jewelry Museum is showcasing more than 50 pieces of plastic ornaments and plastic-decorated fashion items, which runs through Dec. 30.
The pieces from 1870 and the mid-20th century are on display under the title of ``Art Deco and Plastic Jewelry'' to help you catch a glimpse of the history of fashion revolving around plastic items.
The exhibit artifacts range from a pendant made from jet, the predecessor of plastic, in France in the 1900s; a vanity case made of bakelite, also from France in the 1920s; to handbags decorated with bakelite, from Belgium in the 1930s.
The exhibit also features artworks of Lea Stein, who is recognized as the most notable and innovative designer of plastic jewelry of the 20th century. The Paris-based designer is renowned for her multi-layered sculptured celluloid jewelry with unique patterns and designs varying from animals and classic geometric deco style through brooches. Her artworks are coveted by collectors due to their scarcity.
The origin of the word, ``plastic'' comes from the Greek word, ``plastikos,'' meaning to shape or mold, giving a clue as to how plastic lends itself to the art of jewelry.
From mid-1800s, many types of plastic materials, such as celluloid, bakelite, and acrylic were invented to enrich women's costume jewelry.
Natural plants and animal plastics, like rubber and tortoise shells, as well as composition materials like shellac found their way into every aspect of decorative arts, from toilette articles, handbag clasps, belt buckles, jewelry and cigarette cases.
In 1869, the first semi-plastic material was invented in the United States by John Wesley Hyatt. Called celluloid, it was successfully used to imitate elephant ivory, amber, coral, jet and tortoise shells.
``This early plastic afforded working-class women the opportunity to enjoy beautiful, authentic looking jewelry at an affordable price,'' Elaine Kim, curator and vice-director of the museum, told The Korea Times.
``It was also a kind of revolution signaling the enhanced status of women by inventing plastic materials as women began enjoying increased presence in society. Also, it totally changed the concept of ornaments,'' said Kim.
When Queen Victoria wore black jet jewelry, costume jewelry was suddenly freed from its apologetic image and became a historical marker, a reflection of the times that produced it.
Since then, the emergence of jet jewelry, which was a substitute ornament for poor women, led to the trend of creating fancier jet jewelry, not as mourning pieces, but as decorative, dress-enhancing jewelry.
Costume jewelry had originally been known as ``dress ornaments or craftsmen's jewelry.''
She said that early imitation jewelry was made of paste to copy the real jewels of the wealthy and suffered from a bad reputation of being ``non-real.''
Kim said, however, that not all the plastic materials are cheaper and easily available. Bakelite, which was developed between 1907 and 1909 by Dr. Leo Baekland, and is considered to be the first true plastic, is very expensive as it is stronger than other plastics.
The invention of bakelite opened a door of opportunity to the manufacturers of jewelry and by 1936, two-thirds of all costume jewelry made in the United States was fashioned from Bakelite.
Bracelets, brooches, rings, pendants and buttons made from this material can be found in an array of translucent and opaque colors. Notable designers and artists such as Coco Chanel and Andy Warhol even designed items using the material.
However, the manufacturing process was very time-consuming and expensive, so its heyday only lasted about a decade, Kim said.
 Most bakelite production ceased in 1942 with the beginning of the World War Ⅱ. Today, bakelite items are extremely expensive and highly collectible.
``Plastic jewelry is still reviving. In major cities such as Paris, London, New York and Tokyo, tiny boutiques specializing in vintage jewelry are mushrooming,'' Kim said.
She added that the Art Deco craze shows no sign of cooling off. ``Creating plastic jewelry is a kind of art. Costume jewelry was a sort of a litmus test for many scientific inventions like plastic by making a trial production such as tiny little pieces of ornaments such as buttons,'' she said.
``I hope many visitors will get to know the history of plastic and its beauty which enriched women's lives in accordance with the change of the times,'' she said.
The museum opens at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entrance is 5,000 won for adults and 3,000 won for teens and 2,000 won for children under seven.
For more information, call (02) 730-1610 or visit www.wjmuseum.com.
chungay@koreatimes.co.kr
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yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
