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Are the under-40s done with bone china, fine crystal, and sterling silver?

I’m Gen X, so older than 40. We have one set of Christmas china and two sets of fine china. Sterling flatware, crystal stemware. Enough silver serving pieces to have me tearing my hair out trying to find places to store them. Never use any of it. After 16 years of marriage we have come to the conclusion that we are simply very different people than either of our parents. We have recently converted our formal dining room to a media room, and we will be downsizing the china/crystal. We will still keep some, but not all. Probably our wedding china and a reasonable amount of stemware.

We just don’t have the storage space to devote to things we don’t use, and I think a decade and a half is long enough to say we don’t use it.
 
JPie said:
I didn’t register for china when I got married, but a few years ago I fell in love with porcelain made by DBO Home. I treated myself to a service for six after a major promotion, and I use these when I’m in the mood to make dinner parties fancier.

This is a stock photo, but basically I have dinner and bread plates in this pattern, as well as serving platters. I chose a contrasting matte black salad plate to add some visual interest.

1586381271745.jpeg
Click to expand...

Oh, that's pretty! What a lovely design.

I think some of this is just whether you like decorative dishes, etc.

I personally do. I love ceramics, I am the type to get decorative things and hang on walls, etc. I display dishes/pottery.
 
Thanks @elizat ! I also like to collect decorative ceramics.
 
I have to say I have not seen silver, fine china, or crystal stemware on a bridal registry in years.
I have a feeling that younger folks either want their parents china/crystal/silver for sentimental reasons or purchase what they like vintage.
And not having these items does not mean in any way that younger folks are not into good cooking or entertaining. Casual stuff works just as well.

We use our good stuff frequently but it does mean hand washing and occasional silver polishing.
I grew up in the 60's and Sunday dinners, holidays and birthdays all warranted the good china and silver. So for me it is a happy memory representing the table as a place of celebration of family and friends---kind of a sign of respect.

Eating casually with family is also a celebration--even if using our everyday flatware and dishes.

But---absolutely never plastic cups for anyone over the age of 3. And I will not use paper napkins--wasteful and I hate the sound they make--lol.
 
With Easter nearly here, I'll be using China for the holiday dinner. It will just be the 4 of us, so not a lot to hand wash. Not sure yet which set I'll use
Top to bottom:
My China cabinet
aunt's Blue Danube
my Noritake Rothschild
grandma's Noritake
mom's Mikasa20200408_120733.jpg
20200408_120649.jpg20200408_120756.jpg 20200408_120642.jpg20200408_120644.jpg
 
MelloYello8 said:
Does anyone under 40 own a China cabinet?
Click to expand...

HI:

Any kind of cabinet?

I own a modern glass cabinet--metal and glass. Bought it a long time ago, but is very chic and it matched my (then marble dining room table which cracked in half).

cheers--Sharon
 
elizat said:
Me! I just bought a beautiful handmade antique repro Georgian cabinet. It is delivered tomorrow.

Made by this person:

Gallery — Perry's Furniture Studio

www.greggperryconservator.com www.greggperryconservator.com
Click to expand...

I am so jealous, just exquisite. I wish we had room and lived in a state where I could display things. Right now everything is in their protective boxes tucked in lower cabinets or drawers, I'm rather Earthquake paranoid so nothing I couldn't live with being broken is out in the open if not in use.

I have waterford and sterling candleholders and we use those all the time, most nights in fact. I love the way candlelight dances off silver and cut crystal.

@Gussie my DH will happily instruct anyone that 1 teapot per tea is the rule. With purple clay the material pulls the flavors so you cant brew a Jasmine in an oolong pot etc. Although, we bought a teapot in Nepal, awesome pottery workshop, that we use for everything. That is probably the most precious item we own since we ain't going back to buy another and it was a one off. I rather regret we didn't get more pieces, we got some small plates and 2 cups and use those all the time, funny all that cost us $3.20 yet I would cry over any of those breaking far more than my waterford vases or Russian teacups (well slightly more than the teacups that was a labor of love moving those things.)

@KaeKae I love blue Danube,my mom had a similar set Royal Copenhagen but we rugrats ruined that. She still has the teacups hidden away.

A family tradition we have is to give the bride to be a teacup and saucer from your set. Since many of us don't have enough cups to give away, we just buy one off Ebay or at a charity shop. But the idea is when you have teas (cause you have teas right?) You are surrounded by the tastes and love of all the women in the family. The only piece I have from my paternal grandmother is a single teacup and saucer since she gave it to my mom at her shower. I have no idea who took the rest of the set. Her other set bought for her beach house (pre marriage- gasp) was Blue Willow, a blue Japanese themed set from Franciscan Bros. Which my great grandmother smashed every single solitary piece into the bricks during the housewarming party on Dec 7, 1941. She couldn't bear the thought of something Japanese themed in the house, we were at war after all. Nevermind she was born in a country we were also at war with.
 
Oh, I love this question! I have married girls who are 34 and 24, so I do have some experience with that age group!

But first, my story. I will have to say that china, crystal, and sterling flatware might follow jewelry as my next greatest pleasure. The funny thing is, just like with jewelry, I collect a lot and use little of it.

When I got married, I got Minton china, Waterford Crystal, and Gorham sterling flatware (and another everyday china pattern). My aunt and grandmother had been giving me pieces of the flatware for birthdays and Christmas for a few years, so I ended up with 14 place settings. I still love it, but honestly I might use it for Thanksgiving or Christmas and that's about it. I have also added two Villeroy and Boch patterns which I find nicer than stonewear but easy to use everyday, a set of Spode Christmas china, and I now also have my mother's beautiful set of Lenox china that I really love (18 pl settings). This will seem insane, but what I use most is solid white Corelle! It's just easy to take in and out the dishwasher, takes up little room in the cabinet, almost unbreakable. I do have a formal dining room and I do love the room, but again, I mostly look at it! I won't go into stainless flatware, but my latest big bargain find was a set of 12 pl settings of Ricci Impero which is premium quality, and a bride was selling it at a fraction of retail value and it had never been used! Honestly, I used it instead of my sterling the last time I used the dining room!

Daughter number one got married in 2010. She had some sterling in my pattern given to her by my aunt as a child, too. So I think she has about 6 place settings. I have 14 so I figured both daughters could split my set to complete theirs. My daughter likes my formal china, so I got her a few dinner plates (second hand and probably never used lol) to use if she ever wants to before she gets mine. She really needs a larger house and dining room before considering that, though. She didn't register for anything because I have so much and she likes it. She has some of my Villeroy and Boch and some Gorham casual stemware to go with that and uses it everyday.

Daughter number two got married last August. I had bought her a few place settings of my sterling since my aunt was no longer around to do so. But when it came time for her to get married, she informed me that her fiance didn't like to eat with sterling because it bothers his teeth!!! Rolling eyes here. She ended up with a set of white Corelle which fits well in their small apartment for the time being, and she picked out a really pretty set with a toile pattern on aqua background for when they have friends over, etc. She chose Reed and Barton French Country stainless to go with that.

Oops, I just remembered one I forgot. I went to France for 8 weeks the summer between high school and college, and I fell in love with Quimper hand-painted French china/pottery. I brought back a couple of small pieces as souveniers, but after I got married I collected a set of 6 in the pattern Soleil (yellow). It's kind of a treasure that I was afraid to use because it was hard/expensive to replace. But I probably should start using it at this point!!! The reality is, this, like many old china patterns, are easily bought as younger generations clear out their parents homes or the parents downsize and get rid of things. I see beautiful sets selling for a tenth of what they used to cost. it kills me because I see old Wedgewood sets that I now like a little better than mine. But I have TOO MUCH. I promise to get rid of anything my kids and granddaughters don't want so they don't have to do it. And if sterling goes back up to $40, I will profit nicely off those extra place settings I bought for the daughter who doesn't want it!

That's so long I can't imagine anyone reading it. But in a way, it was kind of fun thinking though it and seeing that I should use some of my favorites and get rid of half of it!
 
HI:

Traditions. Wants. I try to honor both!

But IRL I bought too much because because because. Thing is, the hardware survived despite my use: I put my gold laden RD in the DW and it survived like a dam. Testimony to craftsmanship and it has endured but my DS wont want it. (oh goodness I already have 2 sets of everyday RD dishes for "him"...am I my Mother and am traditional?)

cheers--Sharon
 
Millennial here! We're avid antique lovers, and we have a fairly extensive vintage/antique crystal collection. Most of it is vintage Waterford made in Ireland.

I'm also starting to build a set of mismatched sterling silver cutlery. I think I currently have one spoon and one fork, so it's not going as quickly as I'd like lol
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
Oh, I love this question! I have married girls who are 34 and 24, so I do have some experience with that age group!

But first, my story. I will have to say that china, crystal, and sterling flatware might follow jewelry as my next greatest pleasure. The funny thing is, just like with jewelry, I collect a lot and use little of it.

When I got married, I got Minton china, Waterford Crystal, and Gorham sterling flatware (and another everyday china pattern). My aunt and grandmother had been giving me pieces of the flatware for birthdays and Christmas for a few years, so I ended up with 14 place settings. I still love it, but honestly I might use it for Thanksgiving or Christmas and that's about it. I have also added two Villeroy and Boch patterns which I find nicer than stonewear but easy to use everyday, a set of Spode Christmas china, and I now also have my mother's beautiful set of Lenox china that I really love (18 pl settings). This will seem insane, but what I use most is solid white Corelle! It's just easy to take in and out the dishwasher, takes up little room in the cabinet, almost unbreakable. I do have a formal dining room and I do love the room, but again, I mostly look at it! I won't go into stainless flatware, but my latest big bargain find was a set of 12 pl settings of Ricci Impero which is premium quality, and a bride was selling it at a fraction of retail value and it had never been used! Honestly, I used it instead of my sterling the last time I used the dining room!

Daughter number one got married in 2010. She had some sterling in my pattern given to her by my aunt as a child, too. So I think she has about 6 place settings. I have 14 so I figured both daughters could split my set to complete theirs. My daughter likes my formal china, so I got her a few dinner plates (second hand and probably never used lol) to use if she ever wants to before she gets mine. She really needs a larger house and dining room before considering that, though. She didn't register for anything because I have so much and she likes it. She has some of my Villeroy and Boch and some Gorham casual stemware to go with that and uses it everyday.

Daughter number two got married last August. I had bought her a few place settings of my sterling since my aunt was no longer around to do so. But when it came time for her to get married, she informed me that her fiance didn't like to eat with sterling because it bothers his teeth!!! Rolling eyes here. She ended up with a set of white Corelle which fits well in their small apartment for the time being, and she picked out a really pretty set with a toile pattern on aqua background for when they have friends over, etc. She chose Reed and Barton French Country stainless to go with that.

Oops, I just remembered one I forgot. I went to France for 8 weeks the summer between high school and college, and I fell in love with Quimper hand-painted French china/pottery. I brought back a couple of small pieces as souveniers, but after I got married I collected a set of 6 in the pattern Soleil (yellow). It's kind of a treasure that I was afraid to use because it was hard/expensive to replace. But I probably should start using it at this point!!! The reality is, this, like many old china patterns, are easily bought as younger generations clear out their parents homes or the parents downsize and get rid of things. I see beautiful sets selling for a tenth of what they used to cost. it kills me because I see old Wedgewood sets that I now like a little better than mine. But I have TOO MUCH. I promise to get rid of anything my kids and granddaughters don't want so they don't have to do it. And if sterling goes back up to $40, I will profit nicely off those extra place settings I bought for the daughter who doesn't want it!

That's so long I can't imagine anyone reading it. But in a way, it was kind of fun thinking though it and seeing that I should use some of my favorites and get rid of half of it!
Click to expand...

This is why I love dishes and pottery too. I think it's timeless and functional. I buy pottery whenever I go anywhere. It may be antique china or handmade new stuff. But I like beautiful functional things.

I have set of white china with a platinum rim from my dad's mom and it was her mother's, I think.

I have a giant amount of blue bubble depression glass. A random French set of china with butterflies and flowers. Lots of funky vintage 30's and 40's stuff, like Hazel Atlas and FireKing. I have a lot of stuff and I really just enjoy looking at it.
 
My favorite find, right up there with my near-lottery Margot is my set of Whiting Lily (1902) sterling. It is a beautiful art nouveau pattern that is very sought after. I yearned for it for years. Lol, I know that sounds dramatic but I really wanted it. And I am not patient enough to collect it piece by piece. Every antique show, I would scout out the sterling vendors and ask if they had a full service and years went by before I found a complete service for 12. Monogrammed silver is less expensive than plain just because it's easier to sell. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the monogram was my last initial!!! I was so excited that I didn't even ask for a better price!

DH just shook his head. Like we needed another service of 12 to go along with the service for 24 of Francis 1.

But I now have service for 12 for each of my kids. I sure hope they will want it.
 
Tonks said:
I’m Gen X, so older than 40. We have one set of Christmas china and two sets of fine china. Sterling flatware, crystal stemware. Enough silver serving pieces to have me tearing my hair out trying to find places to store them. Never use any of it. After 16 years of marriage we have come to the conclusion that we are simply very different people than either of our parents. We have recently converted our formal dining room to a media room, and we will be downsizing the china/crystal. We will still keep some, but not all. Probably our wedding china and a reasonable amount of stemware.

We just don’t have the storage space to devote to things we don’t use, and I think a decade and a half is long enough to say we don’t use it.
Click to expand...

Can i just suggest try eatting off the cutlery for a week first - just dont be tempted to put it in the dishwasher, (but its not that bad washing up cutlery)
You might just find you enjoy eatting off it
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
Oh, I love this question! I have married girls who are 34 and 24, so I do have some experience with that age group!

But first, my story. I will have to say that china, crystal, and sterling flatware might follow jewelry as my next greatest pleasure. The funny thing is, just like with jewelry, I collect a lot and use little of it.

When I got married, I got Minton china, Waterford Crystal, and Gorham sterling flatware (and another everyday china pattern). My aunt and grandmother had been giving me pieces of the flatware for birthdays and Christmas for a few years, so I ended up with 14 place settings. I still love it, but honestly I might use it for Thanksgiving or Christmas and that's about it. I have also added two Villeroy and Boch patterns which I find nicer than stonewear but easy to use everyday, a set of Spode Christmas china, and I now also have my mother's beautiful set of Lenox china that I really love (18 pl settings). This will seem insane, but what I use most is solid white Corelle! It's just easy to take in and out the dishwasher, takes up little room in the cabinet, almost unbreakable. I do have a formal dining room and I do love the room, but again, I mostly look at it! I won't go into stainless flatware, but my latest big bargain find was a set of 12 pl settings of Ricci Impero which is premium quality, and a bride was selling it at a fraction of retail value and it had never been used! Honestly, I used it instead of my sterling the last time I used the dining room!

Daughter number one got married in 2010. She had some sterling in my pattern given to her by my aunt as a child, too. So I think she has about 6 place settings. I have 14 so I figured both daughters could split my set to complete theirs. My daughter likes my formal china, so I got her a few dinner plates (second hand and probably never used lol) to use if she ever wants to before she gets mine. She really needs a larger house and dining room before considering that, though. She didn't register for anything because I have so much and she likes it. She has some of my Villeroy and Boch and some Gorham casual stemware to go with that and uses it everyday.

Daughter number two got married last August. I had bought her a few place settings of my sterling since my aunt was no longer around to do so. But when it came time for her to get married, she informed me that her fiance didn't like to eat with sterling because it bothers his teeth!!! Rolling eyes here. She ended up with a set of white Corelle which fits well in their small apartment for the time being, and she picked out a really pretty set with a toile pattern on aqua background for when they have friends over, etc. She chose Reed and Barton French Country stainless to go with that.

Oops, I just remembered one I forgot. I went to France for 8 weeks the summer between high school and college, and I fell in love with Quimper hand-painted French china/pottery. I brought back a couple of small pieces as souveniers, but after I got married I collected a set of 6 in the pattern Soleil (yellow). It's kind of a treasure that I was afraid to use because it was hard/expensive to replace. But I probably should start using it at this point!!! The reality is, this, like many old china patterns, are easily bought as younger generations clear out their parents homes or the parents downsize and get rid of things. I see beautiful sets selling for a tenth of what they used to cost. it kills me because I see old Wedgewood sets that I now like a little better than mine. But I have TOO MUCH. I promise to get rid of anything my kids and granddaughters don't want so they don't have to do it. And if sterling goes back up to $40, I will profit nicely off those extra place settings I bought for the daughter who doesn't want it!

That's so long I can't imagine anyone reading it. But in a way, it was kind of fun thinking though it and seeing that I should use some of my favorites and get rid of half of it!
Click to expand...

I read your post :appl:
I think it will in some fashion return to favor eventually
Is it bad to say i wish i had got married just to have got some of these lovely presents? :mrgreen2:
 
Gussie said:
My favorite find, right up there with my near-lottery Margot is my set of Whiting Lily (1902) sterling. It is a beautiful art nouveau pattern that is very sought after. I yearned for it for years. Lol, I know that sounds dramatic but I really wanted it. And I am not patient enough to collect it piece by piece. Every antique show, I would scout out the sterling vendors and ask if they had a full service and years went by before I found a complete service for 12. Monogrammed silver is less expensive than plain just because it's easier to sell. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the monogram was my last initial!!! I was so excited that I didn't even ask for a better price!

DH just shook his head. Like we needed another service of 12 to go along with the service for 24 of Francis 1.

But I now have service for 12 for each of my kids. I sure hope they will want it.
Click to expand...

I wanted to say earlier that I can just picture your table fully set with all these gorgeous pieces! You need to be in a magazine if you haven't already. I love your style! How absolutely amazing to find a full set of antique sterling that you were collecting with your monogram on it! Those old art nouveau patterns are out of this world gorgeous! I would have bought it, too! lol!

We recently got some odds and ends of antique sterling when my husband's siblings cleaned out his parents' house after the father died and the mother moved to a senior living place close to the other two siblings. One thing he got was a set of 12 butter knives in the original felt with the jeweler name on it. The jeweler was a family member, as well! I need to figure out the pattern but this is so recent that I haven't yet (these were pieces that came from his father's grandmother's home which was a beautiful old plantation house that we got to visit the day of his father's funeral). He also got a set of sterling demitasse spoons (simple pattern with monogram) which I love because I have a tea set I use with my granddaughters with demitasse cups. Hopefully having some memories of these things will make them appreciate them down the road.
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
I wanted to say earlier that I can just picture your table fully set with all these gorgeous pieces! You need to be in a magazine if you haven't already. I love your style! How absolutely amazing to find a full set of antique sterling that you were collecting with your monogram on it! Those old art nouveau patterns are out of this world gorgeous! I would have bought it, too! lol!

We recently got some odds and ends of antique sterling when my husband's siblings cleaned out his parents' house after the father died and the mother moved to a senior living place close to the other two siblings. One thing he got was a set of 12 butter knives in the original felt with the jeweler name on it. The jeweler was a family member, as well! I need to figure out the pattern but this is so recent that I haven't yet (these were pieces that came from his father's grandmother's home which was a beautiful old plantation house that we got to visit the day of his father's funeral). He also got a set of sterling demitasse spoons (simple pattern with monogram) which I love because I have a tea set I use with my granddaughters with demitasse cups. Hopefully having some memories of these things will make them appreciate them down the road.
Click to expand...


Thanks DS! I think that loving jewelry is a similar passion as the decorative arts for sure!

This is a fun read.

www.theglampad.com

The 12 Patterns of the Southern Silver Zodiac - The Glam Pad

This content has restricted access, please type “glampad” below and get access.
www.theglampad.com www.theglampad.com
 
Well, as @diamondseeker2006 knows, she is my soul-sister on this! I'm not under 40, but I collect china also - and love it even more than jewelry. But - also like diamondseeker (!!) I have a plain white set I use for every day. It's not Correlle - but the idea is the same.

My father used to collect china for my mother, so I grew up collecting Shelley's art nouveau style cups, saucers and plates. I don't have a lot of them - 14 or so? - but I love them dearly.
I have a Wedgwood set - Osborne - which I love, for 8, 2 Christmas sets - Spode and something else I can't remember - one for 8 and one for 10, a beautiful pottery set DH had made for me one Christmas, Wedgwood's Sarah's Garden for 10, LOTS of random sets of soup bowls or dessert plates that I can mix and match with my white bone china setting which will seat...16, I think?, all sorts of glassware, and for flatware, Arthur Price Old English rats tail patten. I have it in silver plate and in stainless steel and they look exactly the same. I always wanted it in sterling but, seriously, there's a limit.

I agree re dishwashers being the death of the use of fine china - but I think the reason is only in part because of its delicate construction. A lot of fine china has either a gold or a platinum edging, and a dishwasher will take that right off in a heartbeat.

Attached are a few photos of some of my pieces for anyone interested in these sorts of things.

20200410_100035.jpg

20200410_095946.jpg

20200410_095835.jpg

20200410_095820.jpg
 
@mrs-b Your red crystal is fabulous!!! As is your Shelley tea cup collection. I love the feel of their porcelain. My kids are hoping the Easter bunny brings them another tea cup this year.

I am just on the other side of 40, so I just miss the cut off. We use the crystal we registered for and his grandmother's silver EVERY day.

My kids hand wash the silver after dinner and I wash the crystal in the morning. We have a lot of family silver, but I still find pieces to collect. I love estate sales. Like the one where I found the set of 6 sterling bread and butter plates (for $100?!). We use them all the time, like this morning, you know what makes donuts look fabulous?! Sterling plates.

I have 4 different china sets: everyday, formal, and 2 xmas
My every day is Villeroy and Boch Wildberries. We registered for just the plates and cereal bowls. Over time I have collected the it all. I'm drinking coffee out of the cup and saucer seen below. I even have the coffee pot (which I never use, but I do use the tea pot)
1586530053158.png

My formal china is JL Coquet Khazard in platinum. It is hand painted, two layers of platinum and one removed so the pattern is tone on tone. We don't use it often, but I do have my afternoon tea or coffee in it now that I'm home.
1586530704852.png

I am currently collecting Royal Worcester Holly Ribbons to replace the service of 12 boxed 1985 kmart christmas china that I have.
1586530840498.png

I love it all! And I'm teaching my kids to as well. We have polishing parties and tea parties.
 
canuk-gal said:
HI:

Any kind of cabinet?

I own a modern glass cabinet--metal and glass. Bought it a long time ago, but is very chic and it matched my (then marble dining room table which cracked in half).

cheers--Sharon
Click to expand...

I’m curious as to what a modern one looks like. I can’t see myself getting one because China cabinets make me think of Lladro and Precious Moments figurines mixed in with late night tv collectible plates.

I have an Italian marble and teak coffee table that I cracked in half as soon as I got it because I thought I could carry it myself. Put to back together with epoxy and now it has “character.”
 
This thread has reminded me that I don’t have silver cutlery, but I have bronze!

Just been to take a photo, and it’s all in need of a really good clean. Perhaps I’ll finally get around to it during this lockdown. There’s a price list in the box, and I can’t believe what I paid for it :shock:


04F77A19-3424-430F-A4AB-A4BE9457D446.jpeg
 
Omg @mrs-b your collection is exquisite!!!!

I'll post my odds and ends tomorrow. I went on an eBay bender many years ago collecting tea cups and saucers.

Surprisingly hubby loves to have his tea in them. In the ones with pink or purple flowers!
 
elizat said:
My cabinet was delivered. We are still unpacking and getting sorted. We moved in on 3/16. I really am pleased with it!

IMG_20200410_153416.jpgIMG_20200410_153454.jpgIMG_20200410_153503.jpg
Click to expand...

That's lovely--please tell us more about the wood, finish, etc. Do I spy antique glass?
 
Elizabeth35 said:
That's lovely--please tell us more about the wood, finish, etc. Do I spy antique glass?
Click to expand...

It's walnut and the wood has a lovely grain. I know a lot of younger folks my age- 38- don't like to see wood grain, but I do. I have antique side tables too, and antique dressers. I don't want everything white! I understand painting furniture that's super damaged, but painting furniture that is not damaged kind of makes me sad. But, personal taste rules.

The glass is antique as well. It's the wavy glass and you can even see little bubbles in it. I'm really pleased with it! I have about six boxes of items that need to go in there!

I believe I will have more than enough space for certain. Extra really, which is good, because I like to collect.
 
Gary found me 2 really nice art deco era China cabinets but my taller Llardo and my Armani flapper ladies dont fit so they are still in their boxes from 25 plus years ago
 
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