Acrylic + Glass = Grass

 

I picked up a very pretty 17 inch necklace yesterday at the Mercado de Pulgas (Flea Market) in Palermo.  She mentioned that it was a murano-type glass that no one makes anymore, and blah, blah, blah.  Usual salesperson talk.  I had no idea whether or not it was glass, but it was pretty weighty, at least to me. 

This morning, I asked my boyfriend, The Engineer, his opinion.  He said it was acrylic based on the weight of it.  It would have been much heavier had it been glass.  I bought the piece because I thought it was pretty.  It could have been made from rocks from a construction site, and I still would have bought it for the colors: pink, cream, and some olive green.

I turned to the internet for more information, and typed in “difference between glass and acrylic”.  Up popped a list of sites, and I picked one which looked promising.  Turns out it was the some guy asking what kind of bong he should buy – glass or acrylic.  It was Grasscity.com.  The majority of responders opted for glass, though it is more fragile and can break easily.  There isn’t that meltability factor. 

You’re probably not going to melt this necklace down if you decide to buy it, but it looks to be acrylic.  I know there’s a test you can do to check if a piece is bakelite.  One tests is to set a flame to it and see what it smells like.  I’m not about to do any such test because I’m terrified of it melting.  Actually, I’m not even sure if there is a test for it.  If anyone knows, would love to hear about it. 

Grass…er, glass or acrylic, it’s a lovely vintage necklace.  Up for sale at www.lavidavintage.etsy.com

Now, see what an education you can get from vintage shopping?