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

[kenny]

Jambalaya, I'm copycatting your thread about perfume and wristwatches ...

Back in my day fine china, crystal, and sterling were must-haves, at least for those at a certain income level.

Seems like today's millennial siblings are no longer fighting over who gets to inherit grandma's hutch-full of family treasures.
What happened?

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I love my fine bone China cups and plates but quite a few of them are display only.

The others I use at night with my husband when we have time to ourselves because they are just too delicate to be used all day.

Sometimes I let the 7yo have milk out of a fine China cup.

Tea definitely tastes better in them.

As for dinner plates etc we use such a huge volume it's simply not feasible to use them for lunch and dinner. Plus the sets sold these days aren't that pretty. Maybe one day if I see a really gorgeous set I'll go for it.

 

[MeowMeow]

I don't have fine China but I DO have my mother and grandmother's good pressed glass. I had to rescue it from my husband's donating clutches earlier this year when he wanted to give it away. I hope someday we will be able to have some good crystal too lol. And yes I am a millennial.

 

[Roselina]

I love old porcelain and silver! Since no one really wanted those things after my DHs grandma died, and his Mom has plenty, we got some. We use it regularly.

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

I think a lot of millennials are interested in antiques and whatnot from a style, sustainability, and sentimental/historical perspective.

From my POV, millennials value practically and durability. For the most part, china is not dishwasher safe, crystal has lead, and silver requires polishing. Millennials also favor experiences and convenience, over material objects.

For our wedding registry, DH and I focused on All Clad pots and pans, high quality and dishwasher safe flatware, glassware, plates, etc.

 

[voce]

Bone china only for decorative purposes. I am too clumsy and don't want to break bone china. I prefer chopsticks and ceramic spoons to silver forks and spoons. Don't care for crystal since they're just processed lead. Don't know if they're safe health wise?

 

[dk168]

I am in my mid 50s, and do not like to use any crockery and cutlery that cannot go into the dishwasher and the microwave (for crockery).

I prefer the blue tint in porcelain over the yellow tint in bone china. All my crockery are white except for cups and a few bowls for rice.

I do like drinking out of fine crystals, however I have not invested on any dishwasher-safe ones. So I seldom use my existing ones to save on handwashing.

I have no idea what to do with the vast collection of my dad's crystal drinkware currently in storage at my mum's, as I have nowhere to put them in my house!

I have fond memories of them when I was growing up, and I loved to see them glistening in the drinks cabinet in the family home before my parents immigrated to Canada.

My dad had them on display in the new house until my mum and bro moved to a much smaller pad after he died, and they have been in storage ever since.

There are some fancy bone china in storage too, very ornate with gold gilding, not to my taste and definitely not dishwasher friendly. Shame to see them go to a charity shop.

DK

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Omg is crystal lead??? I did not know this!!!!!

Does it have all the health issues too?

 

[Snowdrop13]

Also bone china is partly made from animal bones which may not suit the beliefs of many in this age group. None of these items are really practical for modern life, silver requires so much effort to keep it shiny! I have a cupboard full of wedding china and crystal that I have never used (in 21 years). Guess I’d better think about getting it out sometime or my kids will be donating it to charity eventually!

 

[kenny]

Some crystal used to have lead as one of its ingredients.
It improved the refractive index and therefore the optical properties of the crystal ... think the beautiful light-dispersion rainbows from real diamonds.
I believe lead is rarely used today in crystal for food service.

Lead glass - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

More lead can leach out of lead crystal and into the beverage when a highly acidic beverage is stored for a long time.
Less acidic beverages, in the glass for only a short time, are safer.
The worst would be storing something like orange juice in a leaded crystal container for a long time.

There's that old saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
But even the seeds of an apple release a little cyanide when chewed.
As with many things, toxicity depends on concentration.

 

[737liz]

@Snowdrop13 i didn't know that! I always assumed it was just 'bone white' or 'bone strong'... duh.

@kenny I'm in my mid 30s and have no fine china or crystal. My parents still have all 6/7 sets handed down through the family so eventually, we'll have those. But buying myself a new set doesn't make financial sense. I'd rather upgrade our coffee machine or invest in more cast iron crockery. Funnily enough my mom has taken to just using all the sterling silver flatware and serving trays/bowls on a daily basis. Her reasoning is that they serve no purpose behind glass. And she's getting too old not to do whatever she damn well pleases. She chucks everything in the dishwasher now. Shock! Horror!

 

[kenny]

The best way to minimizing tarnish of sterling silver is to use it often.
The friction of use gradually rubs away the oxidation that continuously develops on silver.

I have a few pieces of solid sterling silver I got for pennies on the dollar at garage sales from sellers who didn't know what they had, and therefore its value.
I love using it.
Yeah it's stupid, but I just love using it.
So sue me.

I don't have, and have never wanted, a dishwasher.

Oh, and old well-seasoned cast iron cookware is another thing I keep an eagle eye out for at garage sales!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I have some nice crystal glassware that’s dishwasher safe. That’s about it.

I primarily use chopsticks so no silver. And I buy my plates at ikea lol.

 

[foxinsox]

I have my parents crystal - the large bowls I use for my dogs water bowls - they’re nice and big and it lets me enjoy them every day. The Poole plates I use as my daily crockery even tho they’re now a little battered. I don’t have a use for the smaller or more fiddly glasses.
So it’s a mix of keeping the ones that fit my lifestyle and appreciating them, and not having a full range of formal uses for all of them.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Bone china only for decorative purposes. I am too clumsy and don't want to break bone china. I prefer chopsticks and ceramic spoons to silver forks and spoons. Don't care for crystal since they're just processed lead. Don't know if they're safe health wise?

My sister was of this opinion and then her house got destroyed in an earthauake - the roof fell in, the wall innings feel off and that night it rained
she eventually got a rebuild, a very modern but very traditional looking 1920's Californian bungalow - she had the only house in the street damaged beyound repair - they had liquefaction, but the new house sits in so beautifully in her established neighbourhod

Anyeay anyway all her lobelly China and crystal she had been buying for 20 years all broken

Now she uses her good stuff every day.
If the kids chip it, well at least its being used rather then lying there never used and all broken in the earthquake

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@Snowdrop13 i didn't know that! I always assumed it was just 'bone white' or 'bone strong'... duh.

@kenny I'm in my mid 30s and have no fine china or crystal. My parents still have all 6/7 sets handed down through the family so eventually, we'll have those. But buying myself a new set doesn't make financial sense. I'd rather upgrade our coffee machine or invest in more cast iron crockery. Funnily enough my mom has taken to just using all the sterling silver flatware and serving trays/bowls on a daily basis. Her reasoning is that they serve no purpose behind glass. And she's getting too old not to do whatever she damn well pleases. She chucks everything in the dishwasher now. Shock! Horror!

Good for your mum
that's why we use our good stuff

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Oh this is a fun one! I used to work in the bridal registry of the second largest Macy's in the country (second only to Herald Square). I worked there from 2005-2009. At that point most brides were still registering for china and crystal stemware but VERY rarely actual silver. When one place setting is 400-600 it just doesn't happen often. They would register for "fine stainless" instead. I think my whole time there I sold two full sets, only because the Grandmother of the bride would come in insisting and order the whole set at once for the best price.

One of the things people don't realize about actual "bone china" is that it's actually the strongest dinnerware material (beyond stainless) that you can get. We used to demonstrate by flipping a tea cup upside down and standing on it (and I am NOT a small girl). We would sell it as "use the good china".

Things changed towards the end with the huge crash in 2008, people got a lot more practical. What ended up happening was we saw more people invest in a higher quality "daily" set that could also serve for a more formal meal vs. a cheaper daily set and then china. I think it mostly has to do with kitchen storage. Many in my age group haven't bought houses and we just don't have the room for two sets! I do have china but only for 8, I knew I would NEVER have more people at my house at once and if I did I would buy a second set and mix and match (which I like better anyway). Phew!

 

[Rhea]

I got married in my mid 20's in the mid 2000's. My friends, mostly raised in the US, are split about half and half with having fine china, crystal and silver. My husband's friends, who got married older, and were raised British, have one set only. I think it's as much an age thing as where you were raised.

We have one set of dinnerware and one set of cutlery. It's a large set, we have 12 of everything, and we use it for all occasions. Glasses we have low ball and wine and that's it. We don't entertain with any regularity, twice a year which is why we have 12 place settings to begin with. We don't have space and we don't like waste. If it can't go in the dishwasher, we don't own it. Having a dishwasher is the only reason we're still married at all. I kid you not. The arguments over dishes were potentially neighbour disturbing before we got one.

The thought of moving more than I have to when we (eventually) move house makes me die a little inside. We are purgers of anything impractical and not in regular use.

 

[Gussie]

Gen X here. I have 5 sets of fine China, 3 sets of sterling, and enough crystal for the neighborhood! I love and use every bit of it. 3 of the 5 sets of China are antique and not dishwasher safe. I find that I do use the sets that are dishwasher safe more often. Table display is a great joy for me.

 

[Gussie]

My sister was of this opinion and then her house got destroyed in an earthauake - the roof fell in, the wall innings feel off and that night it rained
she eventually got a rebuild, a very modern but very traditional looking 1920's Californian bungalow - she had the only house in the street damaged beyound repair - they had liquefaction, but the new house sits in so beautifully in her established neighbourhod

Anyeay anyway all her lobelly China and crystal she had been buying for 20 years all broken

Now she uses her good stuff every day.
If the kids chip it, well at least its being used rather then lying there never used and all broken in the earthquake

Yes! Use it every day! Why wait for company? Plus as @kenny said, the best way to keep sterling tarnish free is to use it. The patina will develop with use too. My family is as important as any company (more!), so I want them to see a nicely set table every night. I am a bit old fashioned, I know but I feel like the beauty of years past is slipping away. If something gets broken, oh well, it's just stuff. I enjoy the beauty in it and if I have to store it away then it does nothing for me.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Oh this is a fun one! I used to work in the bridal registry of the second largest Macy's in the country (second only to Herald Square). I worked there from 2005-2009. At that point most brides were still registering for china and crystal stemware but VERY rarely actual silver. When one place setting is 400-600 it just doesn't happen often. They would register for "fine stainless" instead. I think my whole time there I sold two full sets, only because the Grandmother of the bride would come in insisting and order the whole set at once for the best price.

One of the things people don't realize about actual "bone china" is that it's actually the strongest dinnerware material (beyond stainless) that you can get. We used to demonstrate by flipping a tea cup upside down and standing on it (and I am NOT a small girl). We would sell it as "use the good china".

Things changed towards the end with the huge crash in 2008, people got a lot more practical. What ended up happening was we saw more people invest in a higher quality "daily" set that could also serve for a more formal meal vs. a cheaper daily set and then china. I think it mostly has to do with kitchen storage. Many in my age group haven't bought houses and we just don't have the room for two sets! I do have china but only for 8, I knew I would NEVER have more people at my house at once and if I did I would buy a second set and mix and match (which I like better anyway). Phew!

I got quite a lot of silver flat wear for my 21st in the early 90s

saddly had our garage burgled around the time of the GFC
we had just that day picked up Gary's dad's Waterford crystal decanter that he had got from his work when he left to move to NZ in the early 60s
we left it in the garage that night for safe keeping till we fiund room for it in our very small flat
Gone -
It was never able to be replaced because so many pieces had been discontinued by Waterford downsizing at that time

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Yes! Use it every day! Why wait for company? Plus as @kenny said, the best way to keep sterling tarnish free is to use it. The patina will develop with use too. My family is as important as any company (more!), so I want them to see a nicely set table every night. I am a bit old fashioned, I know but I feel like the beauty of years past is slipping away. If something gets broken, oh well, it's just stuff. I enjoy the beauty in it and if I have to store it away then it does nothing for me.

Have you guys checked out this thread ?
All is not lost if you break Nanna's tea cup or sandwhich plate

Jewelry made from vintage china

Have you seen jewelry made from vintage china and porcelain? This is not my photo, but I love the idea!

www.pricescope.com

 

[KaeKae]

I'm in my mid 50s. I have my fine china, my mom's fine china and recently inherited my aunt's Blue Danube , which if my research is correct is: fine translucent porcelain dinnerware. I also have my crystal stemware and pieces of my grandmother's china, mom's crystal and various crystal vases, ect I've received as gifts.

I doubt my girls, who are in their 20s will want them, but I display most of it and enjoy using it for holidays and the occasional Sunday dinner.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Not under forty... but can I play anyway?!

When I was little my grandmother had 24 settings of Waterford china "that would be mine some day." I used to think it was crazy -- 24 people wouldn't have fit in that tiny ranch house if you stacked them like logs! -- but there it sat, in the built in china cabinet, coming out only for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. When she passed it all got packed up and now sits in my brother's basement. I've been planning on getting though for a few years, and I'm going to USE it! Why not?!

Never thought much about silver. If i came across a set I liked at a yard sale I'd absolutely buy it and use it, but I just never think of it. TR sells things on ebay and he on very rare occasion will pick up a set if he can see that it has salable value, but it's very few and far between just because no one really wants it any more.

As you can tell from the Daily Happy Hour thread, vintage stemware is my weakness! My best friend from law school and his partner bought me a few pretty depression glasses over 25 years ago and that started the collection. Now I've got HUNDREDS... pink, green, blue, purple, yellow and of course clear. The oldest ones I have are well over a hundred years, and of course I'd be sad if they (or any) were broken, but I think they are beautiful and meant to be used. Some are expensive (I think the most I've paid for a single glass was $90), but a lot of them are dirt cheap -- like 25 or 50 cents, or a buck at garage sales. They often pop up a the Salvation Army too. My favorite pinks I got 7 for $10 at a sale on the side of the road at the bottom of a box of old coffee mugs. I actually squealed out loud when I found those!

I can't find a picture of my grandmother's dishes pattern; the plates are white with a fine metal rim (my grandmother used to say "platinum" but who knows what it really is) and itsy bitsy flowers. However on the Wedgwood site I DID find the salad plates and the tray below... which I fell instantly in love with and... uhhhhhh... MAY have just ordered...

 

[elizat]

I'm 38.

I am actually getting a new china cabinet delivered Friday, that's larger than my old 1930's one.

I have sets of multiple patterns. I love antique furniture though, antique dishes, vintage dishes, etc.

I love the old vintage Pyrex that is very colorful, the FireKing peach luster line, etc.

I only use some of it. I think the rest is just pretty to look at.

No sterling though. I don't want to polish that. Stainless steel flatware here.

 

[elizat]

Not under forty... but can I play anyway?!

When I was little my grandmother had 24 settings of Waterford china "that would be mine some day." I used to think it was crazy -- 24 people wouldn't have fit in that tiny ranch house if you stacked them like logs! -- but there it sat, in the built in china cabinet, coming out only for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. When she passed it all got packed up and now sits in my brother's basement. I've been planning on getting though for a few years, and I'm going to USE it! Why not?!

Never thought much about silver. If i came across a set I liked at a yard sale I'd absolutely buy it and use it, but I just never think of it. TR sells things on ebay and he on very rare occasion will pick up a set if he can see that it has salable value, but it's very few and far between just because no one really wants it any more.

As you can tell from the Daily Happy Hour thread, vintage stemware is my weakness! My best friend from law school and his partner bought me a few pretty depression glasses over 25 years ago and that started the collection. Now I've got HUNDREDS... pink, green, blue, purple, yellow and of course clear. The oldest ones I have are well over a hundred years, and of course I'd be sad if they (or any) were broken, but I think they are beautiful and meant to be used. Some are expensive (I think the most I've paid for a single glass was $90), but a lot of them are dirt cheap -- like 25 or 50 cents, or a buck at garage sales. They often pop up a the Salvation Army too. My favorite pinks I got 7 for $10 at a sale on the side of the road at the bottom of a box of old coffee mugs. I actually squealed out loud when I found those!

I can't find a picture of my grandmother's dishes pattern; the plates are white with a fine metal rim (my grandmother used to say "platinum" but who knows what it really is) and itsy bitsy flowers. However on the Wedgwood site I DID find the salad plates and the tray below... which I fell instantly in love with and... uhhhhhh... MAY have just ordered...

I love those plates. So pretty.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Have you guys checked out this thread ?
All is not lost if you break Nanna's tea cup or sandwhich plate

Jewelry made from vintage china

Have you seen jewelry made from vintage china and porcelain? This is not my photo, but I love the idea!

www.pricescope.com

And now I have a whole NEW rabbit hole to fall into!

Two days from now when my boss is like, "Why haven't the quarterly certifications gone out yet?" and I say, "Who cares? Look at all the broken willow wear jewelry on it's way to me from etsy?!"

 

[alittlelight]

To answer your question, totally anecdotally — definitely under-30s all are done. This is from having daughters and their friends all in the wedding/ wedding shower period.

 

[missy]

I'm over 50 and I never started. Not into bone china or fine crystal. And sterling silver is too much work to keep pretty. For me.

 

[tyty333]

My Dad tried to get one of us kids/grandkids to take his mother's dishes when she passed away. Nobody wants them .
I dont find them attractive and would never use them. They dont hold any sentimental value to me either.
I think they are everyday dishes. Its this brand/style...


When my MIL downsized her belongings, my 14 year old DD took the china and sterling silver. The silverware is really nice. I'm not fond of the
china but my DD likes it!

Here is the sterling silver and china