IT’S ALL MY FAULT…

Bakelite or Bust: The Day Plastic Became Gold

By Duane Scott Cerny

In November of 2000, New York’s prestigious William Doyle Galleries hosted a series of auctions in what was billed as “the world’s largest collection of costume jewelry.” Though receiving substantial press ranging from Forbes to the Wall Street Journal to the venerable Maine Antique Digest, the impact of these auctions would reverberate for decades.

The details surrounding the collection were murky at best. Better auction houses are known for their privacy, and such was the case when buyers raised their paddles or clicked their bids, never knowing the source of this spectacular collection.

But this was no ordinary auction. Obsessive collector Dennis Masellis haunted antiques shows, antiques malls, and auction houses to assemble his loot. And I do mean loot.

You see, Dennis Masellis, an accountant for the law firm Baker & McKenzie, had embezzled some $7 million from his employer. By creating a ghost payroll with fake employees, Dennis ingeniously devised the means to purchase whatever he desired. And Dennis wanted Bakelite jewelry.

Patented by Leo Baekeland in 1909 (check Google for more about this odd family), Bakelite was created by mixing phenol and formaldehyde. It became the birth of the plastic age with its use in thousands of items in hundreds of industries, sparking millions in revenue.

Bakelite costume jewelry from the 1930s and 40s, particularly scarcer pieces such as polka dot bangles or the elusive Philadelphia bracelet, routinely commanded top dollar. Yet what might happen if someone gleefully paid multiple times an item’s worth?

The result? Dennis Masellis slowly moved an entire collecting market. Yes, a very specific market, but a desirable market, nonetheless. Unknown individuals have affected markets in the past, but rarely with vintage jewelry. After all, Masellis was no bejeweled Elizabeth Taylor.

“Quote Your Top Price!”

His buying habits soon became known both nationally and internationally. Dealers, who owned the very best Bakelite jewelry ever made, now found their way to the eye and wallet of this most aggressive buyer. What was once considered a “fashion collectible” was now a serious commodity. Seemingly overnight, Bakelite plastic had become gold.

I’d been an antiques dealer for some 35 years when the Bakelite buying tsunami hit and there was nary a dealer who hadn’t heard the rumors of this power buyer, me included. I had always kept a small showcase of better Bakelite, though most of my stock wasn’t worthy of high-end collector Masellis. I say most because I sold a number pieces to high-end dealers who then flipped them to Masellis with a thumb on the scale.

Save for the embezzled law firm, everyone was happy. The market exploded with Bakelite prices rising everywhere. Mediocre pieces were now more salable than ever, and great pieces were a potential mortgage payment. A notable market shift occurred as this once fun collectible became famous if not infamous. Suddenly these were the boom times, collectors and dealers making millions from the sale of their Bakelite wares.

Rumors and questions abounded: Who was this mystery man? Did he come from old/new money? Did he really keep a temperature-controlled room for these treasures?

The answers would come when Masellis, collector extraordinaire, received three-to-nine years for this crime and was forced to surrender the collection he claimed he would never relinquish. Over 10,000 spectacular pieces found new owners from the Doyle auctions, a sizable sum recovered via this crooked collector’s most excellent taste.

Mr. Masellis died shortly after the Bakelite jewelry hit the Bakelite fan. (Yes, there are Bakelite fans!) Not to defend his actions, but any collector could empathize with the gut-wrenching loss Masellis must have endured. How could it not have contributed to his early death at age 56?

Though Coco Chanel is rumored to be the first designer attracted to this colorful plastic, Andy Warhol picked up the Bakelite gavel with the auctioning of his collection after his death in 1987.

Now Dennis Masellis, in his own curious way, joins these fashion icons. Prices have balanced out, yes, but Masellis once single-handedly moved an entire market by paying, nay, grossly overpaying for the very best. His influence has secured his legend… even if it’s with Bakelite spacers.

Duane Scott Cerny is an American poet, alternative music artist, humorist and vintage dealer, and the author of the best-selling memoirs Vintage Confidential and Selling Dead People’s Things. He resides in Chicago, the West Village, and on uncomfortable seating between. Contact: ThanklessGreetings@yahoo.com