I won a box of jewellery bits ‘n’ bobs at my local auction house last weekend. It was mostly a load of broken glass and plastic necklaces, many of which I’ve put aside to donate to the charity shop. But I’m hanging on to these, at least for the time being:

They may form the basis for a craft project or two, or (more likely) I will sell them as a vintage supplies lot in my Etsy shop.

However, here is the main reason for my bid:

At first I thought it was butterscotch amber but the colour was too regular and the surface of the beads was too smooth. So I came to the conclusion that it was Bakelite. I restrung the necklace and replaced the broken clasp, and listed it in my shop.

There were a few things in there besides the beads, namely some cheap earrings and one or two tiny pendants. Including this St Christopher:

…which turned out to be 9 carat gold, and is also now for sale in my shop.