Lenox Bone China for everyday use?

[mtnbkr]

Here's a question I bet you never expected to see on APS. :D

As a wedding gift we were given 6 full place settings of Lenox Kelly bone china.  SWMBO and I aren't formal dining sorts and we've never used it (the grandmothers insisted we have china).  I like the pattern, but hate having it just sit there unused.  The branding on the china says it's dishwasher safe, one of the main reasons we've not used it (delicate AND requires handwashing, no thanks).

Anyway, lately I've been considering selling it all and putting the money towards something else heirloom-worthy.  But, with it being dishwasher safe, something I've missed until now, I'm wondering if we should just use it as our daily dishes.  I'd probably sell the coffee cups, saucers, and bread & butter plates to finance more useful pieces such as dinner plates, salad plates, and maybe the coffee mugs that didn't exist when we got ours.

Thoughts?  Is this going to be durable enough to hold up to daily use?

Chris

[MillCreek]

My wife says that bone china, as opposed to fine china, is generally extremely durable and can be used as everyday dishes.  Especially if it does not have a metallic rim, which will eventually start coming off in the dishwasher.

[Tallpine]

I dunno ... most everything we use is that yellow plastic stuff that came in Mainstay dog food sacks 

[cordex]

How much would you cringe if a guest or kid broke or chipped one?

[mtnbkr]

This is what it looks like:


and

My wife says that bone china, as opposed to fine china, is generally extremely durable and can be used as everyday dishes.  Especially if it does not have a metallic rim, which will eventually start coming off in the dishwasher.

I wasn't aware of the difference, thanks.  It does have a metallic rim and if it started showing wear in a decade, I probably wouldn't mind.  If it wears in less than a year, that would be a bit annoying. 

How much would you cringe if a guest or kid broke or chipped one?

Not sure.  The kids are pretty careful with dishes.  Our current ones have multiple chips, but I believe that is more the fault of the dishes than the users.  I guess it depended on how often it happened.  A chip every few years would bother me, but if we had a lot of damage in a short time, it would be a problem.  Our current dishes are Ikea.  They're soft as heck and have chipped up like crazy in the couple years we've been using them. :| I actually bought a spare set to replace the chipped dishes when the volume of chips becomes too much.

We're still thinking about it.  If we sold it, we *might* clear $400 at one of the replacement vendors, so it's not as if we have a huge store of value there.  Not sure what we'd do with the money either.  We have 6 place settings and I feel we need at least 8 (seldom have more than 2 guests over in addition to the 4 of us).

Chris

[Stand_watie]

I thought this thread was going to be about china made out of actual bones...which has a cool caveman appeal to it.

[Monkeyleg]

I assume that you don't still have the packaging. If you did, it would fetch more on Ebay.

Have you looked on Ebay to see what such china fetches? I saw the exact pattern on Ebay, a five place setting, as new with original packaging, with a Buy It Now price of $279.99. I also saw a five piece set in a similar pattern that was sold by a couple who got the set as a marriage gift and never used it. The Buy It Now price was $39.99. Both were Lenox Kelly bone china.

If it's worth a couple hundred, sell it on Ebay and buy something else. If it's worth $30 or $40, sell it and buy a pizza or two.

I've been selling stuff I'm not using, as I find it's just clutter that I have to dust. I'm not getting rich, but I'm getting a little money for cleaning house.

[MillCreek]

I thought this thread was going to be about china made out of actual bones...which has a cool caveman appeal to it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_china

Would you settle for china made with ash from cattle bones?

[mtnbkr]

I assume that you don't still have the packaging. If you did, it would fetch more on Ebay.

Have you looked on Ebay to see what such china fetches? I saw the exact pattern on Ebay, a five place setting, as new with original packaging, with a Buy It Now price of $279.99. I also saw a five piece set in a similar pattern that was sold by a couple who got the set as a marriage gift and never used it. The Buy It Now price was $39.99. Both were Lenox Kelly bone china.

If it's worth a couple hundred, sell it on Ebay and buy something else. If it's worth $30 or $40, sell it and buy a pizza or two.

I've been selling stuff I'm not using, as I find it's just clutter that I have to dust. I'm not getting rich, but I'm getting a little money for cleaning house.

No packaging.

A 5-piece, single place setting (5 dishes for a single user) is worth about $40 on ebay.  A 5 "place" setting (for 5 people) is going for $150+.  Not sure it's worth the effort of dealing with ebay, shipping, etc.  Most of the auctions were unssucessful. 

My vote is to use it.  For whatever reason, the wife is reluctant even though she would never use it otherwise.  It doesn't hold any sentimental value for her either. 

Chris

[Brad Johnson]

I say keep it for those odd special occasions. Unless it's a rare or currently popular pattern, you won't get much for it.  I rarely have formal guests, but I do keep a nice set of diningware for those times.

Brad

[BlueStarLizzard]

I'd also vote for just keeping it in reserve. That's one of those odd things that, if you sell it, you'll have a facepalm moment in a year or so going "darn it! We could've used that!"

Also, if you do want to use it more, then make occasions to use it. First thought that springs to mind, an at home date night with the wifey pooh. Cook her a nice dinner, set the table, candlelight, kids out of the house.
I'd bet you'd get some pretty major bonus points for something like that.
Also, birthdays, holidays, oddball little family special occasions, straight A's on a report card sorta things where just putting out the nice settings to make a celebratory dinner.

[onions!]

How many bricks of .22 can you get for $150

What sounds more useful and fun?A half dozen stuffy dinners or a few dozen plinking afternoons?Or something similar?Mini-golf?Day at the beach with boogie boards?Silly oversized inflatable Christmas yard ornaments?

After the novelty of using them wears off they'll just go back into the cupboard anyways.

[Stand_watie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_china

Would you settle for china made with ash from cattle bones?

Interesting. So it really is bone (sort of)

[vaskidmark]

Inherited a service for 12 of some fancy-shmancy brand of china from grandma.  It looked (and food tasted better on) the Melmac mix-and-match we were currently using.

Due to hysterics from the then-future ex-Mrs. I agreed to split it into two sets: service for 4 (in case we ever had guests) and a service for six (with two spares).  When the person mentioned above no longer lived with me I took it more for spite than anything else.  Years later a lady friend suggested I check with one of the china replacement places (there were two main ones on-line).  A couple of emails and some photos later and I was making a road trip to some place in NC to turn a packing box of china into several thousand dollars in cash.

If you do not discover that it is a gold mine I suggest you go ahead and use it daily - she is worth it, isn't she?  If it's worth a gun or two, take the Mrs. on a road trip to sell it and use the funds to buy her a gee-gaw or two.  (You get to buy guns with other money.)  Either way, you get to be a hero.

stay safe.

[K Frame]

So you've never pulled it out for the momentous occasions when I have graced your crap shack?

I am sorely offended.

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[mtnbkr]

So you've never pulled it out for the momentous occasions when I have graced your crap shack?

I am sorely offended.

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You're lucky we serve you on plates at all.  I keep telling SWMBO we should put your food on an old hubcap out back.

Chris

[mtnbkr]

For the votes to keep this stuff in reserve...

It has been in reserve for 13 years and we've NEVER been tempted to pull it out.  It's either getting used or sold. 

Chris

[K Frame]

So live dangerously and use the *expletive deleted*it.

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[K Frame]

And a wire spoke wheel from an E type Jag was my favorite plate as a kid.  Didn't do well with sauces, but I managed.

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[Scout26]

Sell it and buy a 12 plates and bowls (three days worth for your family) at the the Dollar store, that's what our daily users are.  Only I bought eight of each at the time $16+tax, we're down to seven of each due to greasy hands on a 13 year old. 

Use the proceeds to buy guns and/or ammo.

[K Frame]

I know you've not had good luck with new china the last time or two, but the set I got from Kohls, Gallery Impressions or something like that, is quite nice and judging by the fact that I've bounced several pieces off the sink and not chipped one, pretty durable.

They're porcelain. I got them on a really good sale.

[KD5NRH]

I rarely have formal guests, but I do keep a nice set of diningware for those times.

For special occasions, I have some plates that match from the dollar store.  (Actually, fairly nice looking squarish white stoneware.  Couldn't pass them up at $1 each.  Now I just need to find 3 more chairs.)

[T.O.M.]

Drives me a bit nuts that we have a cabinet in the corner of our dining room full of china, crystal, and silver.  Worth a few grand probably.  But hey, if makes her happy, just like the contents of my gun safe make me happy, and probably drive her a little nuts (at least the ones that don't come out of the safe frequently).

I'd say eat off of it, but what do I know...

[vaskidmark]

For special occasions, I have some plates that match from the dollar store.  (Actually, fairly nice looking squarish white stoneware.  Couldn't pass them up at $1 each.  Now I just need to find 3 more chairs.)

Ah, yes - the everyday table setting is provided by Great Value.  Probably in the 100-packs of plates, of forks, of knives, and of spoons.

stay safe.

[KD5NRH]

Ah, yes - the everyday table setting is provided by Great Value.  Probably in the 100-packs of plates, of forks, of knives, and of spoons.

Nah, Big Lots for bowls, the local cooking store for chopsticks.