Now do this at your own risk, I have been doing this for 3 years with no negative effects. After dawn and soft brush I rinse with water down FINISH the rinse a person using in a dish washer to avoid spots. I have a hair dryer from the sixty's that has a elastic vinyl hood. I put them in a bowl or platic pan and cover with my hood and dry on low for about 3 hours, they sparkle. Some that have heavy verdgre and are a lost cause if i dont do something drastic, I get them as clean as i can. Then dip in FINSH no water and dry. As above. It seems to put a coating stopping any remaining verdgre to grow. Especially with Haskell. So far so good.

@Elaine Finkel as long as you dont let them sit in the water and make sure you dry them COMPLETELY submergeing in water shouldn't hurt most. Much of the jewelry i get a person is asking for a total loss down the road if not cleanned. Storing vintage jewelry improperly is much more damaging then dipping in water. Or not addressing verdegre. Direct sunlight, or heavy humidity is the worse.

We had are insurance agent stop by Thursday. I had no way to describe our collections. He just shook his head and said that the most he could do for us is to take our household content to the max. $450,000. I asked him. Ok, that fine but if for some reason our place is a total loss I am sure the company will not blindly give us a check for 450k. He said of course not. We have to take pictures of everything. But need not to be individually. Have an idea what we paid and replacement cost. Lol it will depend. He said that seeing pictures the insurance company will go along as long as we are reasonable. We collect more than just vintage jewelry. Art glass. Cut glass. Roseville. Head vases, piano babies, California girls. Lamps and lamps and lamps, depression glass and more. Good thing we have a very large 6 bedroom house and children moved out. Filled it up so that cant move back in. He is going to look around and see if there is anything else available. It will cost an additional $500 a year. For theft , hard to prove. Case by case basis. For lost, nope no insurance.

Now for theft property needs to be reasonably secure. A lock on the door may not be considered reasonable. But our 2 great pry. may. They have doggy door and run of the house. But he highly recommends a professional security system.

I never considered calling catalin as true bakelight until I found it in the jewelry world. I have been looking for a catalin old radio that I can afford. They are so expensive. Bakelight as you stated are brown, yellow, sometimes an ugly red, not transparent. There is a chemical difference between the 2. But I am old school.

Don't ya just love it, the "find" is the best high ever. If your loaded it is easy to have a great collection. But the thrill of the "find" is gone. You never forget about that hidden treasure, where, when and how much you paid for it.