Answer: be the first thing you notice, whether you are examining dinnerware, vases or decorative pieces. The art of making porcelain china began in the country that lent its name to these items well over 1,000 years ago. Fine china -- bone or porcelain -- weighs substantially less than an equivalent stoneware or earthenware piece. While newer china pieces are typically dishwasher safe, for older items, don't put them into the dishwasher if you want them to last.
Ceramic Types
China -- a catchall word used to describe most any ceramic piece, dinnerware or decorative item -- can be categorized into four basic types: bone china, porcelain china, stoneware and earthenware. The first two represent fine china, while the latter two are typically associated with everyday dinnerware, crocks, jugs or decorative pieces. The materials used, the firing processes, the decorative glazes and finishing touches mark the difference between fine china and functional china.
Inner Light
Place your hand behind a plate of fine bone china -- the highest quality china made -- and you can see its shadow through it. Light passes through bone china, even more translucent than china made from porcelain clays and materials. Bone china, the English answer to Chinese porcelain, has a glasslike quality to it, is very light and thin, and is kiln-fired at even higher temperatures than porcelain china. Bone china seems to glow with an inner light; though seemingly fragile, it is very strong.
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