Corelle

[retromania]

I love Corelle. I remember when it first came out. There was a small farm next to the neighborhood I grew up in. The property was sold and in 1969 construction started on a new Kmart Plaza. That was a big deal for our small town. It opened early in 1970. Anyway, a neighbor of our's had children our age and we were at each other's house quite a bit. I remember the day Mrs. Doyle came come with a complete set of Corelle dinnerware in the Golden Butterfly pattern. I had never seen it. Being interested in anything domestic even at that age of 8, I was right there when she started unpacking it. Incidentally, her kitchen had all Frigidaire appliances in brown. I remember her saying it was going to be great because it was chip proof and virtually unbreakable. At first glance I thought it was plastic dinnerware because the plates and saucers were so thin. Then a few years later another family we knew got the green Crazy Daisy pattern for their camper trailer at the beach. I currently have the Winter Frost which is just plain white, but I want to start a collection. It's sort of pricey on Ebay so I will have to shop around. Golden Butterfly seems to be the most popular vintage pattern right now as far as I can tell.

 

[polkanut]

Butterfly Gold, Frost White, and Spring Blossom Green patterns are usually quite easy to find at thrift stores, garage/yard sales, and estate sales.  There are also lots of accessory pieces for Corelle but, you just have to keep your eyes open and be patient.  Gemco made alot of the accessory pieces, and although the patterns on their pieces may be slightly different than the authentic Corelle pattern, it is often so slight as to be nearly undetectable. 

[this post was last edited: 8/26/2012-12:14]

 

[vintagekitchen]

If one will go to flea markets, estate sales, and the like, it can be had more reasonably priced. I built a huge set of Spring Blossom Green with all the various accessories, casseroles, mixing bowls, etc this way, over a period of a few years, a few peices at a time.

 

[whirlcool]

If I remember correctly 1970's Corelle can't be used in the microwave otherwise it will spark. The manual for our first microwave (a 1975 Litton) said not to microwave Corelle. Later versions of Corelle can be microwaved.

 

[polkanut]

Allen,

I don't know about microwave issues with Corelle.  Mom has her original Spring Blossom set from circa 1976-77 plus a ton in storage that I bought for her at an estate auction and it has all been used in a microwave at one time or another.  If someone here is more knowledgeable, I stand corrected.

 

[maytagbear]

It is the original

closed handled cups that cannot be microwaved, because they are Centura, which has metal. Corning quickly came up with the open handle cups that are microwave safe.

Wasn't there a thread about this a week or two ago?

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[retromania]

Maytagbear:

There may have been a thread about all of this recently, but I haven't benn on AW.org in a while so I didn't see it. I apologize. I started this thread today.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[polkanut]

Here is Sandy's post about Centura vs. Vitrelle.  Scroll down to reply #27.  This explains why Mom has never had problems using hers in the microwave. She has the hook handled cups.

Are you seeing a noticeable increase in vintage goods for sale

It kind of struck me a few months ago possibly while I was cleaning out moms house that there seems to be a somewhat noticeable increase in the amount of primo vintage appliances, furniture etc showing up at thrift stores and Habitat Restores etc. 60's and 70's stuff that was bought new and...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[maytagbear]

Andy-

I was puzzled, not intending to be mean or anything. Sorry!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[retromania]

The hook handled cups were my favorite.

 

[danemodsandy]

Andy:

You should have no problem whatsoever putting together as much Butterfly Gold or Spring Blossom Green as you want - they are two very common patterns and they turn up in thrifts a lot.

Winter Frost White is slightly less common, but still out there, and it has one advantage: It's still made, and available new at Wal-Mart, except for cups and saucers.

Whatever pattern you collect, the hook-handled cups are microwave-safe. Other cup styles may or may not be. Corelle was originally sold with cups made of Centura, a non-microwave-safe material. This was not a big deal at the time (1970-72) because relatively few people had a microwave. But '72 was the beginning of the microwave boom, and late that year was when the hook-handled cups came out. You can tell a Centura cup by its loop handle, and its lack of a mark saying "Pyrex."

The hook-handled cups are made of Vitrelle glass, the same laminated glass from which all other Corelle is made. Unfortunately, the hook-handled cup was not totally accepted by consumers, which led Corning to begin making loop-handled cups out of Pyrex for a while; these are always marked "Pyrex." Cups marked "Pyrex" are microwave-safe.

In some long-running Corelle patterns like Old Town Blue, it is possible to find cups in all three materials - early Centura ones, hook-handled Vitrelle ones and late Pyrex ones.

Today, Corelle cups are not available in every pattern (a lot of people today use mugs for everything, so matching cups aren't a huge seller any more), and those patterns that do have them available come with regular ceramic cups from China. These are marked "Microwave Safe."

You might also like to know that Corelle sets did not come with patterned bowls the first two years - all Corelle bowls were Winter Frost White from 1970 to 1972. So if matching bowls are hard to find for your favorite pattern, using Winter Frost White bowls is "correct."

Hope this helps. P.S: The reason that cups have always been a problem with Corelle is that the Vitrelle glass starts out as a flat sheet, which makes it impossible to produce something that is really steep-sided and deep. In addition, pieces of Vitrelle cannot be joined together during the manufacturing process; all items have to be one-piece. That's the reason for the hook handle; it's all of a piece with the rest of the cup.

 

[suburbanmd]

Here's a screen shot from "The Wire" (a hyper-realistic US crime drama). They're filling vials of heroin on a Butterfly Gold plate.

 

[historyman]

I've got full set of Spring Blossom Green that was my grandparents with the closed handled cups, while my grandparents bought my parents a set of Butterfly Gold with the open handled cups. My parents never used the cups as my dad always complained the KitchenAid dishwasher would and could blow them around in the racks! My grandparents set I inherited when I moved as a college grad and needed dishes. It's actually in pretty good shape as my grandparents didn't have a dishwasher while my parents set when retired several years ago for Fiesta Ware, was in somewhat rougher but still presentable shape. Corelle is certainly tough!

 

[retromania]

Sandy,

Thanks for the history and comments. I always wondered why the cups with the bent handle were the only cups out of the Vitrelle material. Now I know. Thanks again!

 

[retromania]

Lawrence,

You are fine. I appreciate all the comments about Corelle / Vitrelle. Wish me luck on my search. Thanks.

Andy

 

[chuffle]

Butterfly Gold...

...ubiquitous as all get out, and because of that, not cared for much anymore, is my favorite pattern.  I've been able to build up a nice set from shopping the thrift stores over the last ten years or so.  I have especially enjoyed finding the platter, the go with butter dish, gravy boat and under plate, and some related bits by Gemco.

 

Because the pattern was very popular in these parts, and saw hard use by many, I have found many of the pieces in the thrifts to be marred by knife marks, rust stains from spending too much time in a dishwasher rack that had seen equally hard use, and roughness with staining around the edges.  I've learned to examine carefully before purchasing.

 

As for my reasons for liking the pattern - the pattern is associated with a nice period of time when I was a young adult.  It is my daily-use service.

 

Joe

 

[danemodsandy]

Here's What I Collect:

This is the least common of the original four Corelle patterns; it's called Snowflake Blue. It was the first Corelle pattern to be discontinued. It was introduced in 1970 with Centura cups and Winter Frost White bowls. In late '72, Vitrelle hook-handled cups and patterned bowls were added. By '76, it was gone; Old Town Blue (introduced in '72) became the major Corelle pattern in blue. Corning made some Pyrex go-alongs for this pattern, like butter dishes, but there were never Pyrex cups for Snowflake Blue. There were also a lot of Gemco go-alongs for it, like oil and vinegar cruets, etc.

I would be very grateful to know of any pieces for sale, or any leads!

 

[polkanut]

Joe,

Just recently at an estate sale I saw 3 Butterfly Gold sugar bowls and 2 of the 3 had nice white covers.  Had I known earlier, I would have gotten them for you.

 

[chuffle]

Oooooohhhhhhhh....

Butterfly Gold sugar with white lids - something I have been looking for. The sugars that I have found are either lidless, or the lid has gone yellow.
Thanks for the thought!

Joe