These Vintage Dinnerware Plates Could Be Worth Quite A Lot Today

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If you are an adult of a certain age, you probably remember the older relatives in your family — maybe your grandma or a great-aunt — keeping china dinnerware stored in a decorative cabinet at home. As a child, you probably found this very boring. However, collecting vintage dinnerware can actually be an exciting hobby that combines the thrill of the hunt with the simple joy of owning something objectively beautiful. We recently discovered, for example, that Fire-King brand vintage jadeite dishware is a gorgeous milky green and can be quite valuable. There's another name in dinnerware that you might want to look out for at estate sales and flea markets: Limoges. While Fire-King is a brand, Limoges is a descriptor that refers to Limoges, France, where several different companies sell porcelain made from kaolin clay found in the earth there. Clearly, France is not just the home of Ina Garten's favorite food; it is also a cultural seat of art and aesthetic taste-making.

The popularity of Limoges porcelain got a major boost in 1781, when French king Louis XVI purchased a Limoges porcelain factory to make dinnerware for his court. Throughout the ensuing centuries, Limoges factories pumped out plates, platters, teacups, saucers, and soup bowls, among other fancy table settings. It turns out that many are collectible and very valuable today, with high-quality complete sets having sold for thousands of dollars! The vast variety of colors and patterns in Limoges porcelain means that, no matter your taste, there is probably a set that will catch your eye.

Let's establish one thing right off the bat: unless you have a complete set of particularly rare Limoges dinnerware in pristine condition, you probably aren't looking at four figures for your porcelain haul. That doesn't mean that individual pieces don't add up, however. As a general rule, the most valuable Limoges pieces feature detailed, hand-painted pictures and signatures from the craftspeople who worked on them. Chips, scratches, or faded paint will, of course, detract from the value. If you are missing any pieces (say, you only have 11 plates of a service originally meant for 12 people), your potential resale price could also plummet. The internet is a great source for snooping on price trends, but you can refer to older books like the "Collectors Encyclopedia of Limoges Porcelain" for clear, detailed photographs of valuable pieces.

Of course, value is also in the eye of the beholder. You can collect Limoges porcelain just to enjoy having it around, which means that you are free to assign personal value to whatever pieces you want. For special occasions like holiday dinners or celebratory parties, setting your table with Limoges plates will have a lot more "ooh and ahh" factor than sets of budget dinnerware, no matter how colorful. Today, Limoges porcelain dinnerware is still sold by French manufacturers and is highly coveted on wedding registries and at housewarmings. To get your hands on the vintage stuff, eBay and Etsy are always good options if you are looking for a deal, while specialty china brokers can help you find that missing piece for your set.