What kind of dinnerware is better ?

To choose a better dinnerware or tableware, from the aspect of quality and appearance, bone china, without a doubt, is your best choice for tableware. However, good or bad is more about a personal choice, anything that suits your demand is the best choice for you.

Here we list some advantages of bone china.

It is the only ceramic that have both practical and artistic value.

Bone china is the only porcelain that is recognized as the high-end porcelain that symbolized as high status. It is also known as the king of porcelain.

The Much lower content of toxic elements like lead and cadmium which is good for people’s health.

Comparing to stoneware and other ceramic products, the price of bone china is much higher, and the price is an important factor that needs consideration too, in some cases, it’s a very important factor.

Anyway, if you are looking for high quality, better appearance, most importantly, the healthiest tableware, bone china is your answer.

                           How is Bone China Made ? ( Bone China Making Process )

Basically, from the raw material to the end products, the making process of bone china undergoes 2 or 3 major steps, white bone china needs 2 times firing, while the decorated bone china products need an extra process called pattern or design application, while the professional calling is decal application.

The first firing causes the product to shrink, and about 20% of the pieces that are made will crack and break at this stage. This is part of the reason why bone china tableware is expensive. The end products of this process are called biscuits. It’s whiter than our usually seen bone china products, and the surface is not as smooth.

The second firing is called glaze firing, it happens after the piece is glazed, and the firing process melts the glaze into the piece. Those that don’t crack or break during this stage are the final products of white bone china tableware.

After above two procedures, the white body is finished. Most of the product will conduct the 3^rd process, which is applying the design pattern. Many pieces are hand painted or sprayed, though in some cases decals can also be applied. 

                                        How to indentify bone China ?

What’s the difference between bone china and porcelain? Here are 5 easy ways to find out:

• Weight

        When comparing the weight between other porcelain products and bone china, on the basis of the same shape, porcelain weight generally is heavier, while bone china is lighter.

• Shape

          Distinguish from the shape, due to the difference of technology and raw materials, bone china, comparing to porcelain, its texture is thinner, and is more smooth, with a higher transparency.

• Transparency

Hold a cup directly facing the light and check if light can come through the wall of the bone china products is usually the most effective method to identify bone china.

• Color

High-grade bone china is of delicate porcelain dense, smooth surface, bright glaze, giving the appearance of milky color, the higher the content of bone ash, the closer to milk white, in contrast, if the content of bone ash is low, it’s yellow color is more obvious.

• Sound

Listen to the tone of clicking, porcelain is more of the sound of heavy thick, when two bowls collide, giving the sound of “ding”, basically no echo, however, if u put two high-grade bone china bowls on the flat of both hands and make it collide, it will give the sound of “clang” and echo, just like ringing a bell.

6 FAQ (frequently asked questions)about fine bone china

6.1 Is bone ash still used in bone china? (which bone ash)

Yes, bone ash still used in bone china. It is, in fact, the most basic ingredient to make bone china.

Regarding which bone ash was added in, research shows it’s mainly herbivore animal bone ash, like the cow and goat bone ash, and cow ash is a better choice.

Why it has to be bone ash?

Although ceramic products were first made and massively used in China, bone china was invented in England. We don’t know how did he come up with this idea at the first place.

With bone ash added to the raw material, the ceramic body possess features of transparency and bright, while having a better toughness, which makes it light in weight but quite strong.

As the main element of bone ash is calcium phosphate, which is a kind of amino acid, a kind of nutrition which is quite beneficial for body health, that is why using bone china tableware is good for people’s health. More importantly, the Zero lead and mercury content make it the top choice of tableware.