Although the vast majority of Hattie Carnegie jewelry is made from metal and even semi-precious stones, the limited Dynel pieces are particularly fascinating and desirable to me.
Therefore this blog post focuses on the Dynel pieces exclusively. Blog posts featuring her metal and stone jewelry are a separate topic and will be written at another time.
Why Hattie Used Dynel So far, I have not found any documentation explaining why her company introduced this particular material. No other jewelry company did to my knowledge. In addition, there is no other accessories company that used Dynel in their jewelry designs. But it was used for other purposes explained below.
"Dynel is a trademarked synthetic fiber made from vinyl chloride and acrylonitrile.
Properties: "Dynel is known for being resistant to burning, abrasion, and chemicals. It's also strong, dries quickly, and is easily dyed.
Uses: "Dynel was used in many applications, which are listed below.
Textiles: "Dynel was used to make knitted and woven fabrics for clothing and home furnishings.
Wigs and fake fur: "Dynel was used to make wigs, doll hair, and fake fur.
Marine applications: "Dynel was used in fiber reinforced plastic composite materials, especially for marine applications.
HISTORY OF DYNEL
"Dynel was first introduced in 1951 by the Union Carbide corporation. Its production has since been discontinued." Google
The name 'Hattie' stuck as her nickname from when she worked in the hat department at Macy's. Eventually the young Henrietta Kanengeiser who emigrated to the United States around 1900 became the very successful women's fashion icon, Hattie Carnegie some decades later.
SOURCES AND RESOURCES
This link, Hattie Carnegie History, connects to Exquisite Vintage Jewels. Her biography can be found there. The foundation of this post can be found on this Google link. More about Dynel can be found on this Wikipedia link.