does anyone actually use fine china/crystal/sterling?

[njc]

Blen, Im a VA native too and just about every Sunday DH (a Yankee implant) and I sit down to a nice home cooked dinner and pull out the china. We havent had any big dinner parties or holidays yet, but I hope to soon. I would feel awful if we had all this china and never used it! We have 12 sets of Lenox Murray Hill and Mikasa Stephanie Platinum crystal (DH has already broken 2 glasses

). We have a nice set of lenox flatware... i really didnt want the upkeep of silver, although there are several sets floating around the families we could end up with. Sometimes I think I was crazy to want all this china, but it wouldnt be proper not to have any!

There is a little family owned jewelry store in my hometown that also sells china, crystal and silver and they always set out local brides patterns. As a little girl it was my DREAM to have all my patterns set out with my name on that little table! I was on cloud nine last summer when it came true!

 

[njc]

I forgot to say that my grandmother had Cambridge Rose Point crystal, which my mother has now and I hope to have one day... its just stunning! I spotted a small bowl in my MIL's china cabinet and asked her about it and she gave me this look like I was crazy to be excited over that peice.

 

[ladykemma]

a little hint to the new kids -china lovers out there

get plain serving pieces in glass, cut glass, silver, pewter, and/ or crystal. then you can use these neutral pieces with anything.

get 10-12 plain glass "rim soup" bowls. get 10-12 plain glass "bouillion bowls". I get all these at flea markets, TJ Maxx, Ross, and garden ridge pottery.

then get many different patterns of just the dinner and salad plates of the fine china you desire.

it's the rim soup bowls and the serving pieces is where the china companies getchya in the wallet!

edited to add: (basically just buy the 5 piece place settings)

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 7/14/2006 10:20:07 AM
Author: KristyDarling
Lucky you, Ladykemma -- I''d love to have a set like the one you described. I adore antiques. If it were mine, though, I''d be too paranoid of damaging it to use it! It''s that line of thinking that led me NOT to register for fine china when I got married. I registered for a plain ole everyday set from C&B. It''s plain white with minimal detailing (the ''Staccato'' style) and is nice enough so that I can use for every day AND for dinner parties. I made sure to choose a style that could work either way.

Maybe someday when I have a gorgeous walnut hutch for my dining room, I''ll entertain the idea of investing in some fine china!

i keep my federal cobalt and the cheap target crystal in the kitchen with the other dishes. easy to get at.

all the rest is in the storage pantry.

 

[laine]

Date: 7/15/2006 12:49:14 PM
Author: ladykemma
a little hint to the new kids -china lovers out there


get plain serving pieces in glass, cut glass, silver, pewter, and/ or crystal. then you can use these neutral pieces with anything.


get 10-12 plain glass ''rim soup'' bowls. get 10-12 plain glass ''bouillion bowls''. I get all these at flea markets, TJ Maxx, Ross, and garden ridge pottery.


then get many different patterns of just the dinner and salad plates of the fine china you desire.


it''s the rim soup bowls and the serving pieces is where the china companies getchya in the wallet!


edited to add: (basically just buy the 5 piece place settings)

Actually, now that I think about it, with my family''s china, we used the dinner and salad plates, as well as the tea cups. I don''t think we''ve ever used the soup bowls or the serving pieces. So if those are the least used and most expensive pieces, why bother?

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 7/15/2006 12:58:48 PM
Author: laine

Date: 7/15/2006 12:49:14 PM
Author: ladykemma
a little hint to the new kids -china lovers out there


get plain serving pieces in glass, cut glass, silver, pewter, and/ or crystal. then you can use these neutral pieces with anything.


get 10-12 plain glass ''rim soup'' bowls. get 10-12 plain glass ''bouillion bowls''. I get all these at flea markets, TJ Maxx, Ross, and garden ridge pottery.


then get many different patterns of just the dinner and salad plates of the fine china you desire.


it''s the rim soup bowls and the serving pieces is where the china companies getchya in the wallet!


edited to add: (basically just buy the 5 piece place settings)

Actually, now that I think about it, with my family''s china, we used the dinner and salad plates, as well as the tea cups. I don''t think we''ve ever used the soup bowls or the serving pieces. So if those are the least used and most expensive pieces, why bother?

exactly

a typical entertainment for me is a sideboard with all the pretty flea market cut glass and silver serving pieces, with all the food where people can get at it and get their own.

on the table itself is real linen placemats and napkins (harrods and ebay), china dinner plate, china salad plate, bread plate if needed, individual salt and peppers, and a glass or crystal goblet. Rim soup bowls used for whatever reason, not necessarily soup.

i use the plain glass plates, bowls, wherever needed and for dessert.

I also have a set of 40 plain glass plates, bowls, and salad bowls that I use for buffet style dinners and showers. garden ridge pottery 50 cents a piece.

 

[plantationcatt]

GYPSY! my great grandmother had TWO Haviland Limoges sets (different patterns)--I was visiting the family house this past week and we were going through the closets and found about 10 different fine china sets. The Limoges is lovely, both of them...and if they weren''t so sentimental I would sell them to you in a heartbeat! When I go back down (to get them and bring them home with me) I''ll take pictures to share with you--what did you crave especially? Wow, how funny. Good luck! You can live vicarioiusly through me!

More to say about this post later when my contacts are out and I''ve had a good night''s sleep...great topic!

 

[Gypsy]

Hmm... that's a great offer! Would love pics. I'll try to scrounge one up of the pattern I like.

Can't find it. I like their contemporary patterns-- really beautiful contemporary patterns are so few and far between... most china is so fussy. They actually have two in the current collection that I like very much. But the one that really captured me was available in all gold or all platinum. It was a white plate with a feather or... like feathers coming out a venitian maske design.. feathers were all one color... gold was the one I liked. Can were only on the rim of the plate. I have a pic of it upstairs ... but can't be bothered right now to fetch it.

This isn't the one... but this is Ritz... which is one I like as well. It's perfect for holidays and special occasions. Argh.. won't let me upload... new post.

 

[Gypsy]

Here it is. Ritz (Ritz isn't the full name of the pattern) Haviland Limoges. It reminds me of something Louis X!V would have eaten off of. It's so "The Sun King" or Apollo. Celestial. That's why I love it. But it's contempory too. Just stunning. And in person! My heart about skipped a beat.

DS-- when I was in france it was Christofle that caught my eye. The French has such lovely designers.

 

[diamondfan]

Lady, I love all the pretty things, the china, crystal and sterling...I have both the stuff I registered for and things I have collected over the years. I would love to be like Baroness de Rothschild and have a china room where I keep all my beautiful stuff. The truth is that I have three sons, a dh who works late a lot, and dinner is not normally formal. If we are lucky we sit down as a family on Sunday night. I have some nice china and stainless that I use, Portmeiron and Couzon, and some pretty glasses from William Sonoma..this is my everyday stuff. My youngest uses plastic plates, he is soon going to graduate to the china but til now it has not seemed prudent. All my stuff is stored in special containers in my basement and it is a pain to get it out. I am trying to start using it more but it is a lot of work to use and hand wash and put it away...so I am ashamed to say I think we have used the really good stuff maybe 2 times in nearly 16 years?

 

[flopkins]

I haven''t actually used any of my china at all, everyday or fine china!! It''s all stored away right now - we share a house w/other housemates and don''t want our new stuff mixed in w/all the house stuff - some of our housemates put my nice wood spoons into the dishwasher, and a bunch of my cheap bowls got chipped too... so I''m wary.

But, when we get our own place I definitely plan to use both sets. I dream of having one of those china cabinets... hehe. My mom uses her china often during the holidays and family get togethers, and I plan to do the same. Plus DH and I love to cook so we will hopefully have ppl over often and use the china!

We got the cheap Crate & barrel stuff for everyday, and Noritake ''Aegean Mist'' for our nicer china. The dishwasher safe component was very important! hehe.

We didn''t get ''real'' crystal, but we got a nice set of Reidel, we are big wine drinkers so those are a must!

As for silver, we couldn''t find any sets we liked!!! So we ended up w/a SS Onieda set we plan to use for everyday.

 

[blodthecat]

My mother bought me a lot of fine china from the Stafforshire potteries, and I have numerous Ladro figures too and some silver.

However, my children have broken certain pieces of my diner service and moggy chops has broken a few of my Ladro ornaments!


So I don't tend to buy the expensive stuff at the moment

Blod

 

[tony5205]

Thirty years ago I purchased a new set of Royal Daulton Fine Bone China while serving in the US Navy, stationed in the U.K. I have never used it. In the past 4 years I have bought pieces on Ebay on a regular basis, when I could find a deal and now have this set running out of my ears. (I''m still looking for certain serving pieces). Here''s the bottom line: I''m single and the crew I have around is just way to rough and nice China would be demolished or otherwise ruined...so I never use it! Maybe one day, I can accomidate for 30 with 7 pc setting. Tony

 

[Lorelei]

I just wanted to say welcome to PS Tony

I use my Spode Herbs daily, the good silver only comes out at Christmas along with the Spode Christmas Tree china which I love. Fine china tends to be much tougher than the cheaper stuff and after a few years of daily use and abuse I only have one plate with a chip, not bad going.

 

[moremoremore]

NEVER! Because I don''t have any LOL...I registered for fairly decent plates when I got married...but they were certainly not fine china by any stretch (maybe about $27.00 a plate)...they went into the oven and freezer....But the pattern was too crazy so my tastes changed...

I''m a heavy, white plate kind of girl...which can look beautiful and modern with chargers and diff table settings!

 

[piccolascimmia]

Bump - I''m going to register at some point in the upcoming months, and still don''t know if I want to register for china or not.

Here''s my main thing about kitchenware - I HATE WASHING DISHES. Are there any sets of good (maybe not great) china/flatware/crystal that are dishwasher safe, or is that request an oxymoron? I think I want a set and like the idea of dragging it out for special occasions, but no matter how much I tell myself I''ll hurry up and wash any hand washing items right away...I won''t and it will sit at my sink for weeks.

Any advice?

 

[jcrow]

piccolascimmia- actually yes! lenox makes one. check it out here. it''s both diswasher safe & microwave safe.

 

[VRBeauty]

I hope you don''t mind a brief highjack so I can share my flatware strategy -- vintage silverplate. I bought my first set (from the 1940''s) about 20 years ago at a consignment shop, and I''ve been using it as my everyday flatware ever since. The finishis not as shiny as it used to be but it''s still in good shape after two decades of abuse. They only need to be cleaned with a silver polish or polish cloth occasionally. The only downside is that this pattern cannot go in the dishwasher as it has some intentional antiquing on it that can be ruined by high temperature washing.

I''ve since used e-bay to supplement the orignial set with 8 settings, about 11 very nice pieces each plus serving pieces, that are kept in storage chests for "company" use. I also have a six-setting vintage set in another pattern that I bought at an estate sale for less than the cost of a good set of stainless. It is in wonderful shape -- the original owner probably kept it in storage too, and only used it for special occations. I''m now starting to collect a wonderfuly ornate art nouveau pattern from the turn of the last century.

I only have one set of china and it''s getting a little ratty... I think I''ll try Lady Kemma''s strategy for china!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

2005 was the Year of Dishes for me!

In 1995 we got married and registered for Dansk Ceylon everyday pattern and some Dansk flatware. I loved Wedgwood White fine bone china but couldn''t justify getting fine china. But my mother knew I liked it, and throughout the next ten years would surprise me with a place setting now and then, usually after she had behaved horridly and we had had a blow up (hence, in our house, we called them the "Guilt Dishes". Needless to say, I suddenly after ten years of marriage, had settings for 12

)

So last year I looked at my tired old Dansk and decided to give it to goodwill, and just use the wedgwood white for everyday, in spite of the fact that I have three little kids under 7 years. But before I gave them to goodwill, I checked ebay, realized they were extremely valuable to people since they were years out of production. So, I sold my entire set in little batches, with chips and scratches from 10 years of everyday use, and they sold for almost $2000...I still can''t believe it, since my mom bought the entire set at an outlet mall in 1995 for about $600. So I took some of that money and supplemented my wedgwood white with Wedgwood Grand Gourmet pieces and also lots of cool pieces from wedgdood Jasper Conran white bone china, which is more edgy and modern. So now I have loads of white china that I love, use it daily, wash in dishwasher.

I then realized that my dansk stainless flatware was also rare, and ended up selling the whole set to Replacements for nearly $900 (there was no market on ebay and I was happy to have that much $ anyway!) I bought a new set of Robert Welch Stanton flatware (some from Crate and Barrel, some from the designer in england) and still had money to spare.

I also have my grandmother''s sterling, but don''t know the pattern and need to get it ID''ed from replacements before I can add to it. It''s gorgeous though, very classic and plain... and not flowery, which isn''t my style.

Crystal...boxed sets. I''m too clumsy. I have waterford scotch glasses I bought my husband, and Riedel port glasses, but reg wine glasses are cheapo for now.

 

[Odilia]

Date: 7/15/2006 12:49:14 PM
Author: ladykemma
a little hint to the new kids -china lovers out there

get plain serving pieces in glass, cut glass, silver, pewter, and/ or crystal. then you can use these neutral pieces with anything.

get 10-12 plain glass 'rim soup' bowls. get 10-12 plain glass 'bouillion bowls'. I get all these at flea markets, TJ Maxx, Ross, and garden ridge pottery.

then get many different patterns of just the dinner and salad plates of the fine china you desire.

it's the rim soup bowls and the serving pieces is where the china companies getchya in the wallet!

edited to add: (basically just buy the 5 piece place settings)

That is a great tip! I wish someone had pointed that out to me during my engagement. I had never really given this any thought, and without going into my 'china saga' from my engagement, I kind of came to this same conclusion the hard way. I wound up getting a neutral set of Mikasa Riviera (it's all white), and then just bought the dinner plates of the fine china pattern I was originally going to get off ebay, at a small fraction of the new price.
In the end, I didn't even get the 5 piece place settngs of my originally intended pattern, as I realized I always clear the table before serving the coffee etc., so I got some Belleek and Donegal china coffee and tea cups off ebay instead. Much prettier.
(Although if my family's over for breakfast, I do have 5 pc. place settings of the neutral Mikasa, so I can put out matching coffee cups with plates that way.)

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 10/9/2006 1:51:22 PM
Author: wallermama
2005 was the Year of Dishes for me!

In 1995 we got married and registered for Dansk Ceylon everyday pattern and some Dansk flatware. I loved Wedgwood White fine bone china but couldn''t justify getting fine china. But my mother knew I liked it, and throughout the next ten years would surprise me with a place setting now and then, usually after she had behaved horridly and we had had a blow up (hence, in our house, we called them the ''Guilt Dishes''. Needless to say, I suddenly after ten years of marriage, had settings for 12

)

So last year I looked at my tired old Dansk and decided to give it to goodwill, and just use the wedgwood white for everyday, in spite of the fact that I have three little kids under 7 years. But before I gave them to goodwill, I checked ebay, realized they were extremely valuable to people since they were years out of production. So, I sold my entire set in little batches, with chips and scratches from 10 years of everyday use, and they sold for almost $2000...I still can''t believe it, since my mom bought the entire set at an outlet mall in 1995 for about $600. So I took some of that money and supplemented my wedgwood white with Wedgwood Grand Gourmet pieces and also lots of cool pieces from wedgdood Jasper Conran white bone china, which is more edgy and modern. So now I have loads of white china that I love, use it daily, wash in dishwasher.

I then realized that my dansk stainless flatware was also rare, and ended up selling the whole set to Replacements for nearly $900 (there was no market on ebay and I was happy to have that much $ anyway!) I bought a new set of Robert Welch Stanton flatware (some from Crate and Barrel, some from the designer in england) and still had money to spare.

I also have my grandmother''s sterling, but don''t know the pattern and need to get it ID''ed from replacements before I can add to it. It''s gorgeous though, very classic and plain... and not flowery, which isn''t my style.

Crystal...boxed sets. I''m too clumsy. I have waterford scotch glasses I bought my husband, and Riedel port glasses, but reg wine glasses are cheapo for now.

if you post a picture and the info written on it i can ID it for you.

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Date: 10/9/2006 5:56:37 PM
Author: ladykemma

Date: 10/9/2006 1:51:22 PM
if you post a picture and the info written on it i can ID it for you.

OK ladykemma, the James Bond of the dish world...here you go!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

the back...can''t read iot very well...maybe one of those little squares has an R and one an S?

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

and last...a detail of the knife, w/ hollow sterling handle and stainless blade...

 

[ladykemma]

lunt silversmiths Regency 1935

 

[Clarygrace]

Absolutely! There is nothing like setting a beautiful table with fine china! I have lovely Noritake china and my ex husband and I collected old Noritake and Meito tea cups and accessory pieces which we used (and I still use) to serve dessert and coffee/tea with.

Silver is not always a must, but I do use it for holidays and smaller gatherings...I like to use fine stainless for the crowds. As far as crystal goes, I prefer the inexpensive type, so that I''m not heartbroken if a wine glass breaks while having a fun wine tasting turned to wine drinking

And then there is alway just plain white china, dishwasher safe, that is just classic and can be paired with just about anything...timeless and always current!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Date: 10/9/2006 8:55:05 PM
Author: ladykemma
lunt silversmiths Regency 1935

Ladykemma, you are my hero. Seriously.

How did you know that?

 

[ladykemma]

i'm a sterling flatware collector. it's amazing what people throw away. I have a book with all the american silver manufacturers patterns from the 1860s forward.

most of my finds come from salvation army. grandma dies, young uns don't know what that is, give the entire estate to salvation army, or they don't want to wash /care for it.

my most pretty set was found in a disgusting heap on a dirt floor in a barn in Cut and Shoot Texas . I asked the man how much he wanted for it, it was in a mildewy nasty burlap sack, a jumble, so tarnished it had turned blue. i vagueley remember he wanted 100 or 200 for it. I cleaned it up, complete for 8, luncheon and dinner size. Takes two chests to hold it all.

provenance from a mildwey scrap of paper some lady from alabama 1912. Alvin della robbia year the titanic sank.

 

[MINE!!]

Nope... it is stored away in a nice pretty box though.

 

[MINE!!]

BTW.. My Grandmother had an entire collection of China from PRUSSIA.. Not Russia... PRUSSIA... from when it still exisited.. it was stolen from a storage unit when she was moving. She put it there for safew keeping... HA!!