Choosing Bone China or Porcelain Dinnerware

Selecting dinnerware for your dining room sets the stage for your room’s tone and enticement. A key consideration is which type of tableware best fits your home's interior design.

When selecting dinnerware for your home, first ask yourself the following questions to make the best decision: 

  • What style of dinnerware will enhance the look of my tabletops? 
  • Will the dinnerware complement my dining room ambiance?

Many people are uncertain as to the difference between Bone China and Porcelain. They both differ in appearance, composition, and production. The production of bone china begins in a similar fashion as porcelain china but includes an extra ingredient, bone ash. This is a white powdery substance and the byproduct of incinerated animal bone. The bone ash gives the body of the plate a unique milky white color. The texture and appearance are opaque and its whiteness can best be described as “snow white.” 

Bone ash also adds translucency to the body of the dinnerware and makes the dish stronger by making it softer. Its translucency and fineness in composition create a distinct chime that sets bone china apart from all other ceramic products. By making the dinnerware less brittle, the bone ash makes it more resilient and less likely to break. Often times, you can place your hand on the back of a plate and hold it up towards a light.  If you can see your hand, it’s likely bone china!  Otherwise, the dinnerware product is most likely porcelain.

Bone china offers a slightly more elegant appeal due to the lighter weight and body composition and it’s typically a bit more expensive than porcelain due to its manufacturing process and overall elegant perception.

On the other hand, Porcelain is white, hard, permanent, non-porous pottery. Hardness is a primary attribute that is achieved through the types of material used and the firing process. Porcelain is made up of a combination of feldspar, quartz and kaolin. These materials are then fired in a kiln at high temperatures, resulting in hardness more superior than that of bone china. Typically porcelain is less expensive than bone china. The materials contribute to a brittle composition which can lead to increased chipping.

Below is a summary of each material’s characteristics to guide you in making your decision.

Porcelain’s Primary Characteristics

  • White, hard, permanent, non-porous pottery
  • Made from a combination of feldspar, quartz and kaolin
  • Less expensive and heavier than bone china
  • Brittle composition leads to more chipping
  • Available in varying degrees of whiteness ranging from ivory to blue-grey to bright white
  • Comes in two types
    • Soft Paste – creamier in color and somewhat porous
    • Hard Paste – purer white color and non-porous

Bone China’s Primary Characteristics

  • A translucent and fine composition
  • Made from kaolin, feldspar, quartz and bone ash
  • The quality is determined by the total amount of bone ash included
  • Opaque texture and appearance
  • Thin-walled pieces give a more delicate appearance but offer more durability than porcelain
  • Lighter in weight than porcelain
  • Bone china white has a warmer tone to it; often described as “snow white”