Show Me Your China Pattern

[fire&ice]

Here's a shot of our every day (outside - and yep, it's hotel china!) The inside shot is our formal. I really don't care for it much. I picked it out when I was 16 which is traditional in our family (silver as well). Kinda dumb as it is way more fussy than my adult personality.

 

[fire&ice]

Quart - I love your moderne Rosenthal forms. It's quite recognizable!

I love most people's formal patterns except my own.

I do love my Holiday patterns & use the gold rim plates on their own.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

F&I - I love your inner formal set with the flowers. This is exacty my taste! lol It's very similar to the Mikasa pink flower set I have

Michelle

 

[quaeritur]

ooohhhhh... F&I, I love the Limoges. I have always admired a set that was my grandmother's that is also Limoges and very ornate.

 

[chrono]

All the dishes/plates/china posted are very pretty. However, I am terribly domestically challenged and have a few stupid questions. Where I come from, there are no such things so I have a few questions:

1. I take it that these are only used for special occasions and most people use other plainer/tougher sets for everyday meals?
2. Are there people that use these sets everyday?
3. It sounds like some sets are passed down through the family, so what happens to the new set that one receives as wedding gifts? If the old sets keep on getting passed down, why bother buying a new set?
4. Do a lot of couples request china as wedding gifts? Is this common?
5. What if people don't buy an entire set? Do you fill in the missing pieces?

I know most of the answers would be common sense type answers to a lot of you posting in this thread but please amuse me with your answers as I really don't know a thing about chinaware. I still use our mismatched set from our college days and for special occasion, a plain boxed correll set works fine. Am I missing something or am I just plain unclassy?

Thanks.

 

[Matata]

Chrono,

I can only speak from my experience, so here's a stab at answering your questions.

1. I take it that these are only used for special occasions and most people use other plainer/tougher sets for everyday meals? Are there people that use these sets everyday?

Depends on the person and lifestyle. I used mine everyday whether I was serving hot dogs for steak & lobster. Some types of china have patterns/edging that are delicate and not suitable for the dishwasher and thus require handwashing and special care -- not practical for busy lifestyles or if children are assigned to do the dishes!

3. It sounds like some sets are passed down through the family, so what happens to the new set that one receives as wedding gifts? If the old sets keep on getting passed down, why bother buying a new set?

My grandmother gave me her set as a wedding present. It had sentimental attachment for me to I accepted it although it wasn't my taste. I used it because it evoked warm memories of family dinners when I was a child. I bought a set later that was more to my taste -- and then my taste changed so I decided that less expensive dinnerware was a better option for me.

4. Do a lot of couples request china as wedding gifts? Is this common?

I dunno about this one. Nearly all my friends grew up believing that a household wasn't complete without a fine set of china so included it in their wedding gift registry.

5. What if people don't buy an entire set? Do you fill in the missing pieces?

Yep. Some of my friends requested only the serving pieces (platters, gravy boat, cake plates) as wedding gifts and chose to buy the dishes, cups, saucers themselves. Others listed everything.

 

[BonnieCWJ]

Hi everyone,

First post for me! I love seeing everybody's china patterns. DH and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary this year, and this china is now discontinued, but I do love it. We still try to add to it occasionally by using Replacements, Ltd., which is not too far from our home. They're a great source for old china and crystal patterns. Anyway, this is Lenox Windsong. It's a pale blue floral on a cream background with tiny yellow centers in the flowers. I hope the picture shows up OK, and I'll give it a try.

If this is successful, I'll try to post a pic of my diamond anniversary ring next time!

Bonnie

 

[CaptAubrey]

i wish i had a photograph of my mother's china, that was her mother's china, but as it happens it is very similar to diamondlil's in the third post in this thread--not surprising since it is also from japan. the neat thing about this set of china is that it was made immediately after wwii while the family was stationed there (my grandfather was an army officer). on the back under the logo, it says "made in occupied japan." a real conversation piece.

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 8/3/2004 2:05:34 PM chrono wrote:

I still use our mismatched set from our college days and for special occasion, a plain boxed correll set works fine. Am I missing something or am I just plain unclassy?

Thanks. ----------------

Yes, you are.

..just kidding.

I think it just depends on the family, geographic location & age. In my day, (married 1984)one would register for a fine china pattern. In the South at the time, it was *not* traditional to give money (and considered poor form unless by a close relative). While my parents Northen friends choose to send a check, nearly every one from the South gave a gift off of our registry. We received most of the set; but bought the remainder on the Magical "tabletop" plans - usually really low & long payments w/ no interest.

We both come from families who entertained & had big formal family dinners at holidays, some Saturdays & Sundays. We do use ours w/ frequency - sometimes just the two of us. It's relaxing & special to eat off of the good china, use the crystal & good silverware. But, that's just us. We eat a sit down dinner nearly every night that we don't go out. For that, we use our indestructible Hotel china. We are both one of those people who live to eat rather than eat to live. So, it fits our lifestyle. I'm one of those people who won't drink wine (would rather go without) out of a plastic cup. It's not that I'm snooty. I just feel like life is too short to not surround yourself with all the ambience you can. If I didn't hate to iron, I'm the type that would use cloth napkins every day.

So, I think it all goes back to what's important or not to you. BTW, I love that Correll stuff. Have quite a few fill in plates in white. Can't kill it - and you can really dress it up.

And, I have some friends that have chosen no pattern & have collected different place settings. They choose to set the table w/ all different patterns.

BTW, the older you get the more "sets" one seems to acccumulate. Culture & religion can also enter into the picture as to different sets of china as well.

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 8/3/2004 5:37:54 PM CaptAubrey wrote:


on the back under the logo, it says 'made in occupied japan.' a real conversation piece.

----------------

And, don't forget "collectible".

 

[CaptAubrey]

----------------
On 8/3/2004 5:52:29 PM fire&ice wrote:





And, don't forget 'collectible'.

----------------

somewhat, but there is more of it around than you might think--all those gi's bringing the stuff home after the war. i just took a look, and there are 164 listings on ebay.

not that we would ever let go of it, of course.

 

[websailor]

----------------
On 8/3/2004 9:23:35 AM Iceman wrote:



I dont get it ?


aka 'a man'

----------------

I'm not sure which way you were thinking, but yes, Websailor is a man (and cflutist is my DW....well maybe not so D).

We do use our good china - we've tried to have nice, home cooked meals, with quiet conversation, very soft classical music, candles, and wine (and the good china of course), as "date nights".... See the picture below....

Before we got married, when cflutist cooked our first nice home dinner together when we were just courting, we had an "interesting" conversation about her china.... It probably went about like this:

me: lots of nice compliments about her cooking skills, how she looked, etc....toss in nice compliment about china...

her: similar compliments back....what was your china pattern?

me: Noritake something or other...probably said we (my ex and I) got the 8 place set for ~$400

her: Oh, this is Lenox Tudor, each place setting is ~$400......the Wallace Golden Aegean Weave sterling was about $300 per setting too...the Waterford champagne flute is about $100...

me: Choke on food in mouth....carefully put down all silverware....back away from the table

her: Is something wrong? (said in total innocence)

Afterwards we probably talked a lot more about my beans and franks dinner style and how "going out" meant dinner at McDonalds, versus her desire to educate me about 4-5 star restaurants....

Fortunately we've each learned to accomodate each other's desires, but those are whole other stories....

The good china hasn't been used quite as much since I've introduced her to the Cruise Ship life....but she sure does like those Formal Nights!

PS Re washing dishes.... a) I wouldn't touch them until she let me know they were all insured, and b) she likes to wash them IMMEDIATELY after use (which means abandoning our company), whereas I think they can wait a hour or two until after the company leaves.....it's not a "fight" that I'll ever win!

 

[diamondlil]

Websailor, I'm LMAO!!!!

DiamondLil

 

[Matata]

AHHHHHAAAHAAA. Websailor, damnit, you made me snort my mocha all over a report due to the president in 5 minutes. Love the story.

 

[hoorray]

So Matata, what are you doing reading PS when you have a report due to the predident in 5 minutes?

. Rofl.....good read Websailor. There are some fights you are just not destined to win..... (although I'm with you -- the dishes can wait until everyone is gone.)

 

[websailor]

----------------
On 8/4/2004 10:54:51 AM Matata wrote:





AHHHHHAAAHAAA. Websailor, damnit, you made me snort my mocha all over a report due to the president in 5 minutes. Love the story.

----------------

Matata,

Maybe I should post a warning on top of my messages! I'd hate to see anyone have their diamond buying potential reduced due to mocha all over the President's report. Or worse yet, be investigated by the FBI (which President are we talking about anyway?)!

 

[Matata]

------Matata,

Maybe I should post a warning on top of my messages! I'd hate to see anyone have their diamond buying potential reduced due to mocha all over the President's report. Or worse yet, be investigated by the FBI (which President are we talking about anyway?)!

[/quote]------


Not to worry Websailor, I simply printed another copy of a splatter-free report so my job is still secure, and I'll still be able to purchase the colored gemstones that are my current obsession. Still, a warning label on your posts and Cflutist's would be most appreciated. I report to a university president who has no connections to the FBI so you're safe for now.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Can't get my digital camera to work right, so I'll post a photo later, but my china from my FIL arrived. Rather strangely, it looks almost identical to the china my mom had planned to pass down to me! It's white with a fine metal line around the rim and another about 1/4"-1/2" inch in. Weird. Now, I'm not sure what I think. I was hoping for something with little purple flowers

. lol

Michelle

 

[Jennifer5973]

Bump in light of ame's China thread.

I agree with F&I--this was an interesting thread.

 

[Momoftwo]

Back when I got married in 1981, we were young and we had nothing, so I didn't register anywhere, because we needed absolutely everything. I did get "good" dishes that weren't quite as expensive as China. I got them through word of mouth to family members about what I wanted. I've also collected more pieces over the years as gifts. It's Franciscan "Desert Rose" pattern. I now have 12 place settings, glasses, goblets, wine glasses, accessories and serving pieces. I used to think I wanted to replace it with china, but we do use this for holidays and guests, and I like having something a little different than china. It used to be made in England, but now some pieces are made here and elsewhere so the newer pieces don't match mine (color tones in particular).

 

[Scintillating]

I found a picture of my china pattern browsing, so I thought I'd add it.
It's Wedgewood in the Amherst Pattern. (Which coincidently is where my FI and I met)
A couple years I ago I found 3 boxes of 4 place settings (+ extras) on ebay for $300 - so I impulsively bought it, it was a great deal. (normally about $1200 retail for just the place settings.)

I'd love to see everyone else's patterns.

Scintillating...

 

[AGBF]

Date: 8/2/2004 3:08:10 PM
Author: quaeritur
ok... this is the set we registered for in Europe (my dad''s side of the family is in the Netherlands). To this day, I have not seen anything like it. It''s really only on display and I view it as a piece of art -the porcelain is so fragile it''s translucent, and I''m afraid to touch it!

It''s by Rosenthal, and inspired by the opera ''The Magic Flute.'' Passages from the opera are handpainted on the back of each dish. Both my parents and my in laws have added pieces to the set for several of our anniversaries... that''s made it extra special to us.


Thanks so much for starting this thread, it''s made me rediscover my love for these pieces!!!

quaeritur,

I absolutely love your china. I have never seen anything remotely like it. The gold is absolutely stunning...and having "The Magic Flute" interwoven in it just makes it better! The Queen of the Night''s aria is my single favorite aria in any opera!

Deborah

 

[kanne]

I agree. The Magic Flute china is amazing. wow. I LOVE IT!

 

[crafftygrrl]

Date: 2/1/2006 5:11:43 PM
Author: Scintillating
I found a picture of my china pattern browsing, so I thought I''d add it.

It''s Wedgewood in the Amherst Pattern. (Which coincidently is where my FI and I met)

A couple years I ago I found 3 boxes of 4 place settings (+ extras) on ebay for $300 - so I impulsively bought it, it was a great deal. (normally about $1200 retail for just the place settings.)


I''d love to see everyone else''s patterns.

Scintillating...

I have this as my formal china. Though I never use it. My husband and I looked for ages for simple, but elegant china that didn''t cost a fortune. My DH can be clumsy and I didn''t want to have a heart attack over a $400 plate. When I got married (18+ years ago), you could get place settings for under $60.00 if you shopped around.

The funny thing is my DH had a problem with the name--Amherst.

He went to Williams College. There is serious rivalry between Williams and Amherst.

My hubby made me pledge I''d never mention it to his college friends.

 

[glaucomflecken]

Wow I missed this thread way back when! Of course I hadnt picked my china yet in 2004...

Here is the set we picked for our casual every day china, Wedgewood White

 

[glaucomflecken]

Here is what we chose for our formal china...Ralph Lauren Silk Ribbon in Pearl. This is SO funky and fun yet elegant in person. I wanted this in pink or the Vera Wang similar set in pink, but DH vetoed that very fast.

 

[flopkins]

oh how fun!! Since I just registered for my wedding I can post our hopefully-soon-to-be-china!

My mom has a really nice set of Mikasa stuff, but she still uses it a lot... I don''t know the pattern but it''s very pretty.

We originally didn''t even register for formal china, just the everday stuff from Crate & Barrel, buy my bm insisted that we should... so finally I just added the same kind as Mara, the Crate & Barrel Platinum line, but then I saw the Noritake Aegean Mist which I liked just as much and is much cheaper... the only problem is I''m not sure it is dishwasher safe?!!

Anyhow here it is (I hope this works) :

 

[FireGoddess]

Very fun to drool over everyone''s china patterns! I have to say that while I love the idea of china, we didn''t register for any because (A) there''s nowhere for us to store it in the condo we rent and (B) we never have occasion fancy enough to use it. We ended up getting every-day stuff and I have to say it was a good decision for us - we''ve already chipped a good number of things in the 2 years we''ve been married!!!

 

[Odilia]

This is a great thread, which I''d never seen before, so I''m glad someone revived it. I especially love the antique sets that some of you inherited. When I was engaged, one friend who had just married insisted that we register for formal china. I wanted something neutral, so that it could be used for any occasion in any setting. I originally was going to get a Wedgwood pattern with a silver border, which was pretty, but it seemed SUCH a lot of money for dishes that I''d use so seldom because we aren''t that formal. (My Mom uses butterfly gold Correlle for our ''formal'' dinners; my sister-in-law uses stoneware, and I''ve never seen my sister''s formal china, because she always uses paper plates at every gathering we''ve been to with them. She didn''t even use it for Thanksgiving last year!

So in the end I went instead with this Mikasa pattern, which can go in the dishwasher, is formal enough for formal dinners, but casual enough for ''everyday'' (although I don''t use it everyday). Someday I wouldn''t mind getting a colorful pattern, maybe at an estate sale or something...

This pattern is Mikasa Riviera. It''s all white with a raised pattern around the edge; it''s hard to see the pattern in the picture.

 

[Odilia]

Maybe you can see the pattern better in this picture: