Dishing Tabletop

If there's one product every American home has to have, it's dishes. But the basics don't have to be so basic: retailers may find that in-depth knowledge of how products are made — and what that means for longevity, style and ease of use — can help convince customers to take their table settings to the next level.

Dinnerware, naturally enough, starts with the material from which its made. Unfortunately, companies don't always specify. “Ceramics,” for example, is a generic term for any piece made from earth-produced clays and mixes, then processed through firing or baking. This includes:

Stoneware. A dense, porous ceramic made of varying mixtures of kaolin and ball clay, feldspar and flint. Leak-proof and non-absorbent, even when unglazed. Can go into a dishwasher, microwave or even conventional oven. Natural coloring tends toward gray. Strength depends on purity of clay and temperature at which it was fired.

Earthenware. Made from clay less refined than china clays fired at relatively low temperatures. Though weighty, it's porous; chips easily and will absorb food particles or liquid. However, it can be shaped in more dimensional forms and constructions without molds. Takes glazes, paints and decoration more easily than stoneware. Glaze is fired at lower temperatures, so it can use colors that would burn off during firing of other materials.

Ironstone. Stronger version of earthenware using more refined clays fired at higher temperatures.

Terra-Cotta. Porous red clay that has been modeled, left to dry and fired at low temperature.

In ceramics, “fine china” is used to mean any high-end dinnerware; bone china companies sometimes use the term to describe their comparatively lower priced porcelain pieces.

Porcelain. Naturally blue-gray white china; translucent if thin. Made from kaolin, a white clay that melts at high temperatures, a quartz stabilizer and feldspar, a cement-like mineral binding agent. Firing first at lower heat followed by high-temperature glaze firing melts the glaze into the body and creates a vitreous, glasslike product able to withstand dishwashers and microwaves.

Bone China. Animal bone (up to 60 percent, mostly ox bone) that has been burned, ground into a fine powder and added to a base batter of white clay. Six parts bone ash to four parts chinastone renders the clay translucent white or ivory-white. High-heat first firing and lower heat glaze firing produces a softer glaze, which will show knife cuts after time and develop a patina.

Melamine. Popular alternative to ceramics available in an increasing array of high design styles. “Melamine” dinnerware is actually made of melamine resin, also known as melamine formaldehyde, a hard plastic. Dinnerware is dishwasher-safe and break-resistant, but not microwaveable; it resists acids, alkalis and most food stains. Warn consumers not to use abrasives to clean.

Once the body of the tabletop has been determined, the next question to ask is: How is it decorated? Most ceramics are glazed, meaning they've been treated with a transparent coating that protects decoration, makes the clay body non-porous and/or adds color. But not all glazes are created equal.

Over-Glaze. Applied to the surface of a piece that has already been glazed and fired; is then set with a low-temperature firing.

Under-Glaze. Applied directly to a bisque before glazing, then covered with a protective coating.

High Temperature Decoration. Enhancements created from a limited source of pigments that when fired at a high temperature combine with a transparent glaze to melt and fix colors in place.

Low Temperature Decoration. Enhancements created from a larger list of pigments placed on a pre-fired glaze and fixed by means of a third firing at low temperature.

Metallic Trims. Because they must be applied after the glaze, gold and platinum require an extra firing. This, along with polish, adds to cost and renders the item non-microwave-safe. (Often non-dishwasher-safe as well, though new metallic trim decals are making more metallic trims safe for the dishwasher) Advise customers to use cooler water and let the piece cool before removing it from the dishwasher.

Hand-Painted. A feature that is as highly sought after in tabletop as in other kinds of giftware. However, high quality decals have become the norm, allowing precise standardization.

Enameling. Metallic oxide powder fired at low temperatures over pottery that has already been glazed and fired.

Faience, Majolica or Delft. High-fired, tin-glazed earthenware, usually decorated with a lot of color and in traditional designs. Called Faience in Italy and France, Majolica in Portugal or England, and Delft in Holland.

Not all ceramic dinnerware is glazed. Basaltware is unglazed stoneware, usually black with a dull gloss, and Bisque is clayware that has been fired once, but not glazed.

Learning more about tabletop offerings than just their pattern, brand and price point will help customers choose the dishes that best suit their lifestyle. It emphasizes the kind of added value that independent specialty retailers offer through customer service, and helps adjust the old-fashioned division between “every day” and “formal” china — which can dissuade shoppers from investing in the dishes they love, or using them once they have them.

As consumers increasingly opt for a casual yet chic lifestyle, they want dishes that are low maintenance and not too fussy, but that doesn't mean they won't appreciate china that makes every family dinner a special occasion. n

Diana Friedman contributed to this article