Buying and Caring for Fine China

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Buying and Caring for Fine China

Porcelain, bone china and earthenware, checking quality, and using it

Fine china is bought rarely and kept for decades, and the differences between the materials determine both how it looks and how it should be treated.

The three main types

Earthenware is fired at lower temperatures, is thicker, porous beneath the glaze and chips more readily. Stoneware is denser, harder and suits everyday use.

Porcelain is fired hotter, is vitrified and non-porous, and can be made very thin. Bone china includes bone ash, which gives it a warm white colour, translucency and, despite appearances, considerable strength.

Checking a piece

Hold it to the light — good bone china is translucent enough to see a shadow through. Tap the rim gently and listen for a clear ring rather than a dull sound, which can indicate a crack.

Run a finger around the rim and the foot for roughness, and check the glaze for pinholes and the decoration for smudging.

Gilding changes the rules

Gold and platinum banding must never go in a microwave, and dishwasher detergent wears it over time. Hand washing is the honest recommendation for anything gilded.

Dishwasher and microwave

Modern porcelain without metallic decoration is generally fine in both, and the manufacturer's guidance decides. Even then, pieces knocking together in a dishwasher chip at the rims.

Thermal shock

Do not pour boiling water into a cold piece or take anything from a fridge to an oven. Warm teapots with hot tap water first.

Storage

Felt or paper between stacked plates, cups hung or stood rather than stacked, and nothing stored under weight.

Using it rather than storing it

China kept in a cabinet for decades is rarely enjoyed. Good porcelain is far tougher than it looks and using it regularly is the point of owning it.

Keep a couple of spare pieces of anything in a set you actually use, since replacing a discontinued piece later is difficult.

Repairs

Professional ceramic restoration can make a small chip or a clean break almost completely invisible, and it is worth doing for anything sentimental. Keep every fragment and do not attempt to glue it first.

Making tea properly

Warm the pot, use fresh water just off the boil for black tea and cooler for green, and give it the time the leaf needs rather than the time you have. Loose leaf in a large infuser beats a cramped metal ball every time.

Rinse a teapot out rather than scrubbing at it, and never put a gilded teapot through a dishwasher.

Collecting

Keep the backstamp details and any documentation, and note that specialist replacement services exist for many discontinued patterns.

WHERE TO BUY

Ready to shop Belleek? Use the link below to visit the official store.

→ Shop Belleek — official site

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