What is Fine China?

Fine China is said to be first produced during the Tang dynasty which ruled from 618 to 907. The early 8th century was a golden era of this dynasty, as its culture and beautiful art flourished amazingly.

Porcelain and Fine China are made from the same material called Kaolin and a type of white clay. Porcelain word originated from Porcella, which is a Latin word. The Fine China and Porcelain both are smooth, white, and glazed giving them a great shine. 

Fine China is the whitest, the hardest, and the most transparent (translucent) porcelain ever made in the world. Its delicate yet hard body offers all the privileges of both Hard porcelain and Bone china at the same time.

So here is one question, why and how fine china, bone china, and porcelain are different from each other, and why Fine China is favorite among the other two? First, let us know about Bone China and Porcelain.

What is Porcelain?

Porcelain is a ceramic material made from a combination offeldspar, quartz, and kaolin by heating them in a kiln at a temperature ranging from 1200° C to 1400° C. This heating temperature makes the porcelain highly durable and translucent in comparison to other types of ceramics.

Porcelain is divided into three main types hard-paste, soft paste, and bone china, the type of object is decided by the composition of paste that is used to make the porcelain products and heating temperatures.

What is Bone China?

Bone China is made from the combination of bone ash, kaolin, and feldspar, and it is a type of porcelain. Other than this Bone China contains phosphates and calcium that are found in animal bones.

Bone China is considered the strongest porcelain ceramic because of its high physical strength and break resistance. Bone china is also famous for its high level of white texture and translucency.

Now that we have seen the ceramic types, let us check out their differences.

Fine China Vs Bone China

As we know that Fine China is made from Kaolin and white clay, which makes it less costly. Whereas Bone china is made from calcium, phosphates, kaolin, and feldspar, in which the calcium and phosphates are found in the animals’ bone ashes. Because of this factor, bone china is the most expensive even though it is the strongest ceramic of all.

If you put bone china and fine china together, they appear the same at one glance but the bone china is slightly warmer than Fine China because of the bone ash that is used in the bone china, because of this the light passes easily through the bone china making it more translucent than Fine China.

Fine China is slightly heavier than bone china but the weight is merely felt. Whereas with the shape, Bone China is much thinner making it easy to decorate. If Fine China breaks it will have a thick and heavy sound with no echo, while if Bone China breaks it will have a thin and light echoing sound.

Fine China and Bone China are similar on many points, making them each other doppelgangers, but if you are an animal lover then bone china is not your dinnerware type because of the animal bone ash used in making it.

Fine China and Porcelain

Porcelain and Fine China are made from the same materials, what makes fine china expensive is the white clay and glaze that is used in decorating fine china. 

Fine China is heated at a high temperature making it much more durable than the unglazed porcelain dinnerware sets. The in-glaze technology and the fine white clay give the fine china a glossy look making it more translucent, whereas the porcelain is less translucent.

The porcelain is not suitable for any kind of decoration because it can have inconsistency in the color. By just a single firing process, Fine china becomes vitrified while the porcelain needs various firing stages and high temperatures, but even after that, the porcelain has low durability and low cost than Fine China. 

Caring tips for Fine China

Some fine china is dishwasher safe, so if you are willing to wash them in the dishwasher then wash them at a gentle cycle and a nominal dishwasher temperature so that the fine china does not lose its shine in the coming period. If the food stains are hard, then it is recommended to wash the fine china with lukewarm water and then place them in the dishwasher.

When it comes to storing the fine china, store them in very secure boxes by placing soft foam sheets between the products, due to this the dishes will not scratch each other and will not break easily. Unbox the china only for the occasions to make them last longer for years and years.

Never place fine china in contact with direct heat, this may ruin the product.  Clean the china as soon as the food is over and it is time for cleaning, with that, always wipe off the china with a soft cloth to avoid the water spots which can ruin the china’s shine and decoration.

After all the extra care fine china can get crack lines like a spider web, many misunderstand that with an actual crack but in reality it is not a crack, to solve this problem soak the fine china in warm milk for a minimum of 30 minutes, this trick will solve your crack problem if the crack not so deep, but if the cracks do not go away then there are chances for the fine china to break.

Final Words

There is a very small difference between Fine china and Bone china, both of them bring warmth and a classy look to your dining experience because they are a symbol of luxury and elegance. 

All three ceramics are a great way to impress your guests. But Fine China is everyone’s first choice as it is light in weight than porcelain and animal bone ash free like Bone china.