About our bone china products
All our bone china products are made in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. The original home of fine bone china. Historically, fine bone china was developed by Josiah Spode in the early 1790s with his expressed intention to exceed the highest quality porcelain products being imported from China at that time. His fine bone china clay (or “body”) was made with a blend of bone ash (44%), feldspar (30%) and kaolin clay (26%) to give the product an exquisite translucent appearance; yet it was found to be stronger and more chip resistant than all other porcelain products available.
How to care for your bone china cups, mugs and jugs
Although fine bone china is a surprisingly resilient product, the following should always be noted:
- Sudden large changes to temperature should be avoided. This may cause thermal shock, and an item may crack or break. Cups and mugs may suffer if, for instance they are taken from storage in cold cupboards, and filled directly with boiled water.
- Any product should not be exposed to a naked flame, as the localised heat source will stress and break the item.
- If an item is dropped or knocked against a hard surface, it may break. If no breakage is apparent, checks should still be made to ensure that there are no hairline cracks or fatigue in the ceramic material, as it may suddenly break when exposed to heat.
- Fine bone china is not freezer or oven safe.
- Stubborn tea and coffee stains can be removed from time to time with baby sterilising solution. Products should always be thoroughly washed and dried before use.
- Abrasive cleaning or drying materials should be avoided, as it will scratch the glazed finish on the product.
- Over time, continued use of strong detergents and solutions can fade the pattern on the product.
- Our bone china products are dishwasher and microwave safe.